LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Class 


HISTORY 


OF 


orfe 


BY 


JOHN  H.  MORRISON 


AUTHOR 
HISTORY    OF    AMERICAN    STEAM    NAVIGATION 


PRESS  OF 

WM.    F.    SAMETZ    &    CO. 
NEW    YORK 


GENERM. 


COPYRIGHT.   1909,  BY  JOHN   H.   MORRISON. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Colonial  Period 


CHAPTER  II. 

1784  to  1820. 

Early  American  New  York  Shipbuilders — The  "Clermont" 


and  Her  Builder   16 


CHAPTER  III. 


Period  of  Large  Development  in  Shipbuilding — Marine  Railway 

and    Dry    Docks— Tools     50 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Strikes    of    Shipyard    Employees,    and    Formation    of    Trade 

Unions  in  New  York  City  64 

CHAPTER  V. 

Mechanics'    Bell    85 

CHAPTER  VI. 

New  Era  in  Shipbuilding — Ocean  Steamships — Clipper  Ships..       92 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Launching    of    Vessels    and    Launching    Disasters — Dry    Dock 

Accidents     107 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

High     Water     in    Wooden     Shipbuilding — Yacht     "America" — 

Record  of  Prominent  American  Clipper  Ships 118 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Decline  of  Wooden  Shipbuilding 153 


194728 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The  Steamboat  "Clermont"  (2) 34,  35 

Adam   &  Noah   Brown's   Shipyard,   1812 40 

Original  Mechanics'  Bell    86 

Mechanics'  Bell,   1845    , 90 

Steamboat  "Oregon"    ' 96 

.Steamboat  "Empire  of  Troy"   98 

Steamboat  "Thomas  Powell"   100 

Clipper  Ship  "Challenge"   103 

Balance  Dry  Dock   105 

Steamboat  "City  of  New  York" 115 

Steamboat  "Rhode  Island"   119 

Clipper   Ship   "Comet"    130 

Clipper  Ship  "Flying  Cloud"    132 

Clipper  Ship  "Gazelle"   134 

Clipper  Ship  "Sovereign  of  the   Seas"    136 

Clipper   Ship   "Young  America"    13*7 

Clipper  Ship  "Great  Republic" 139 

Clipper  Ship  "Dreadnought"   140 

Three-Masted  Schooner  "Eckford  Webb"    148 

Steamboat  "Daniel  Drew"   157 

Steamboat  "C.  Vibbard"  .  161 


PREPACK. 

HE  development  of  shipbuilding  in  New  York 
prior  to  the  separation  of  the  colony  from  the 
Mother  Country,  both  under  the  Dutch  as  well 
as  the  English  occupation,  was  of  a  very 
uncertain  character,  mainly  for  the  reason 
that  for  the  greater  portion  of  the  period  the  commerce 
carried  on  with  foreign  countries  was  with  vessels  owned 
abroad,  and  it  was  only  toward  the  latter  days  of  the 
colony  that  vessels  were  constructed  in  this  city  for  trad- 
ing coastwise  for  any -distance,  and  to  the  West  Indies. 
There  were  vessels  built  for  near-by  trade,  but  they  were 
comparatively  small  in  dimensions  and  number.  For  the 
reason  that  our  forefathers  were  not  given  to  the  habit  of 
recording  any  advancement  made  in  industrial  pursuits 
in  this  country,  it  is  impossible  to  cover  the  subject  but  in 
a  general  manner  during  the  Colonial  period. 

It  was  not  until  after  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Great 
Britain  in  September,  1783,  that  there  are  any  records  of 
shipbuilding  in  the  City  of  New  York.  In  fact,  while  the 
several  States  still  retained  their  separate  governments, 
to  the  formation  of  the  Union  of  States  in  1789,  there  is 
no  record  to  be  found  in  this  city.  So  there  is  no  official 
record  of  vessels  built  in  this  city  prior  to  President 
Washington's  administration,  and  even  for  a  few  years 
later  there  are  some  of  the  official  papers  of  New  York 
built  vessels,  that  have  been  for  many  years  among  the 
missing. 

The  industry  now  began  to  show  much  activity  com- 
pared to  its  former  condition,  and  the  restless  energy  of 
the  American  mechanic  began  to  assert  itself  in  its  first 
stage  of  freedom  from  foreign  control,  and  while  the 
progress  in  the  "art  of  shipbuilding"  was  very  small  in- 
deed, it  was  not  until  after  the  monopoly  of  steam  navi- 
gation on  our  rivers  was  removed  in  1824  that  wre  see  the 
vast  improvements  that  took  place  in  shipbuilding  in 


4:  PREFACE. 

this  city.  From  this  period  to  its  final  decline  about 
forty  years  later,  it  was  a  rapid  development  with  the 
large  growth  of  the  city  and  its  many  industries. 

In  the  first  stage  of  this  expansion  of  shipbuilding, 
the  skilled  mechanic  began  the  agitation  for  the  relief 
from  his  long  hours  of  labor,  and  in  a  few  years  he  was 
successful,  and  through  the  several  changes  in  the 
methods  of  construction,  and  the  use  of  better  tools, 
work  was  turned  out  more  rapidly  and  better  than  be- 
fore. Then  came  the  building  of  Ocean  and  Coastwise 
Steamships,  and  later  the  far-famed  Clipper  ships,  for 
which  New  York  City  was  so  widely  noted,  and  justly  so. 
This  lasted  for  a  few  years;  and  then  several  surrounding 
conditions,  all  affecting  the  shipbuilding  industry  of  the 
city,  more  or  less,  had  the  effect  to  stop  the  making  of 
new  contracts  for  vessels,  and  to  close  up  some  of  the 
local  shipyards.  The  progress  in  the  industry  at  New 
York  was  followed  during  the  whole  period  at  all  the 
shipbuilding  centers  on  the  Atlantic  Coast,  but  this  city 
was  the  most  unfortunate  in  losing  its  hold  upon  this 
business  so  soon  after  the  close  of  the  conflict  between 
the  States  in  1865.  The  State  of  Maine  was  the  excep- 
tion, for  wooden  shipbuilding  was  largely  carried  on 
there  till  very  recent  date. 

Had  the  builders  and  owners  of  vessel  property  at 
that  day  the  foresight  to  have  seen  that  the  day  of  the 
wooden  hull  vessel  had  passed,  generally,  they  would 
have  been  saved  many  anxious  days  waiting  for  its  re- 
turn to  prosperity.  Some  no  doubt  did  see  it,  and  retired 
from  business  before  it  was  too  late,  while  others  re- 
mained to  the  last.  The  prosperous  days  of  the  wooden 
hull  shipyards  had  passed,  the  iron  hull  shipyards  took 
their  business,  and  the  former  passed  into  history.  The 
old  Mechanics  Bell  and  the  Balance  Dry  Dock  are  about 
the  only  material  evidences  we  have  left  of  the  industry. 
The  American  wooden-hull  shipbuilder  was  undoubtedly 
a  credit  to  the  nation  in  his  clay. 


CHAPTER   I. 

COLONIAL    PERIOD. 

DURING  DUTCH  AND  ENGLISH  OCCUPATION    OF    NEW    YORK 

CITY. 

HE  Atlantic  coast  being  well  fitted  for  ship- 
building by  the  abundance  of  its  timber, 
vessels  have  been  constructed  at  several 
points  on  its  northern  and  eastern  shores 
from  the  first  actual  settlement  of  the 
country  by  Europeans.  That  which  made  it  almost  a 
work  of  necessity  was  the  fact  that  the  early  colonists 
were  located  along  the  immediate  coast,  and  were  forced 
at  first  to  build  the  Indian  canoe  to  obtain  the  fish  for  a 
food  product  for  their  own  use;  but  a  few  years  later  they 
built  small  sail  vessels  that  gave  them  a  wider  range  in 
their  fishing  operations  than  with  a  canoe. 

The  earliest  record  we  have  of  the  construction  of  a 
vessel  in  this  country,  other  than  small  fishing  boats,  is 
of  one  built  by  colonists  sent  to  the  coast  of  Maine  by 
some  merchants  of  London  in  1607,  who  landed  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Kennebec  river.  They  erected  buildings 
and  constructed  a  vessel  of  thirty  tons  during  that  year 
they  named  "Virginia."  They  were  favorably  situated  to 
construct  the  vessel,  for  one  of  the  colonists  was  a  ship 
•carpenter.  This  body  of  colonists  soon  became  dis- 
couraged; became  involved  in  difficulties  with  the  In- 
dians, so  that  some  went  back  the  next  year  to  England : 
others  took  the  "Virginia"  and  sailed  to  the  English 
colony  at  Jamestown,  Va.  The  next  vessel  built  in  New 
England  was  the  bark  "Blessing  of  the  Bay"  of  60  tons 
burden  on  Mystic  river,  Mass.,  in  1631  for  Governor  Win- 
throp  of  the  colony.  The  next  year  a  vessel  of  100  tons,  a 
year  later  one  of  near  200  tons  burden  were  built  on  the 
same  river.  Shipyards  were  soon  located  along  the 


6  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

Massachusetts  coast  where  the  fishing  industry  was  car- 
ried on,  for  it  was  the  commerce  in  the  salted  fishery  pro- 
duct that  much  of  the  freight  was  obtained  for  the 
vessels  trading  to  Europe,  and  the  West  Indies.  This 
business  in  the  fisheries  was  the  main  cause  of  the 
development  of  shipbuilding  on  the  eastern  coast  at  the 
early  period,  with  the  low  cost  of  the  finished  vessel. 
This  low  price,  placed  upon  their  vessels  by  the  colonial 
builders,  was  one  of  the  reasons  so  many  vessels  were 
built  for  several  years  for  foreign  owners. 

XEW    AMSTERDAM. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  vessel  in  which  Henry 
Hudson  discovered  the  river  which  bears  his  name  Avas 
called  the  "Half  Moon."  She  was  of  small  dimensions, 
being  74  1-2  feet  length  over  all,  beam  16.9  feet,  and  10 
feet  depth  of  hold,  with  a  draft  of  water  of  7  feet.  This 
vessel  entered  the  lower  bay  on  September  4,  1009:  on 
the  llth  he  came  into  the  upper  bay,  where  he  remained 
but  one  day,  when  he  left  for  the  upper  part  of  the  river, 
and  arrived  at  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Albany  on 
September  19,  1609.  After  a  short  stay  he  returned  to 
the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  on  October  4th  following 
set  sail  for  England.  The  first  trading  ships  between 
Manhattan,  or  New  Amsterdam,  and  Holland  were  the 
"Little  Fox"  and  the  "Little  Crane,"  which  were  brought 
here  in  1611  upon  a  speculating  trading  voyage,  and 
spent  a  considerable  time  in  bartering  the  trinkets  and 
other  trifles,  so  much  coveted  by  the  Indians  for  beaver 
and  peltry,  of  which  the  country  afforded  a  bountiful 
supply  at  the  time.  The  adventure  was  a  great  success 
for  the  promoters,  and  we  .find  the  "Little  Fox"  making 
several  voyages  to  the  river  at  later  dates. 

Captain  Adrian  Block  was  sent  out  in  1613  in  com- 
mand of  the  ship  "Tiger"  by  some  merchants  of  Holland, 
in  company  with  two  other  vessels  to  New  Amsterdam, 
to  trade  with  the  Indians,  but  through  an  accident  his 
ship  takes  fire  while  lying  in  the  bay  and  preparing  to 


COLONIAL  PERIOD.  7 

return  home.  Nothing  daunted  by  his  misfortune  he  set 
to  building  a  small  yacht,  so  called,  from  the  timber  that 
was  growing  in  such  abundance  on  the  islantl;  and  in  all 
probability  the  construction  of  the  vessel  was  carried  on 
at  the  lower  end  of  the  island.  The  toobwthey  had  to 
work  with  were  crude  for  the  purpose,  but  the  best  they 
had  at  hand,  and  no  doubt  as  good  as  was  in  general  use 
at  that  day.  It  is  not  probable  that  there  was  anything 
better  for  shaping  the  timber  than  would  be  carried  on 
board  a  vessel  for  doing  repair  work,  in  shape  of  tools. 
This  vessel  was  the  first  one  built  at  New  Amsterdam, 
was  44  1-2  feet  long,  16  1-2  feet  wide  and  16  tons  burden 
and  named  "Onrest."  She  was  used  in  exploring  the 
coast  for  a  distance  to  the  north  of  Long  Island  Sound, 
and  it  was  in  this  vessel  that  Capt.  Block  was  the  first,  it 
is  thought,  of  any  Europeans,  to  have  visited  Block 
Island,  that  lies  at  the  entrance  of  Long  Island  Sound. 
But  little  was  done  in  shipbuilding  for  some  time  to 
which  to  call  attention,  until  in  1631.  The  West  India 
Company,  who  had  the  territorial  right  of  trade  with  the 
colony,  had  built  at  Manhattan  the  ship  "New  Nether- 
lands'7 "of  about  600  tons,"  and  it  was  in  all  probability 
the  largest  merchant  vessel  in  the  world  at  the  time,  and 
was  sent  to  Holland.  She  was  fitted  for  carrying  thirty 
guns.  We  find  that  the  record  shows  that  the  building 
of  this  vessel  was  severely  criticised  at  a  later  date  as 
bad  management  on  the  part  of  the  West  India  Com- 
pany. At  a  much  later  date  the  first  shipyard  is  shown 
to  be  on  the  shore  about  two  blocks  inland  from  the 
present  foot  of  Broad  street,  and  known  as  Hunts  ship- 
yard. 

One  of  the  most  notable  maritime  events  in  connec- 
tion with  the  early  history  of  Manhattan  was  the  loss  of 
the  ship  "Princess"  and  about  sixty  of  her  passengers 
and  crew,  some  of  the  former  being  those  whose  names 
have  been  handed  down  to  us  in  connection  with  affairs 
of  the  Dutclj  Province.  This  vessel  left  Manhattan  for 


8  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

Holland  on  August  16,  1647,  having  among  her  pas- 
sengers William  Kieft,  who  had  been  Director  General 
of  the  Province,  and  Dominie  Everardus  Bogardns,  the 
first  clergyman  established  in  the  town.  The  latter  mar- 
ried the  widow  Annetje  Jans,  who  came  into  possession 
of  the  sixty-two  acres  of  ground  granted  to  her  first  hus- 
band in  1636,  that  in  1705  was  leased  to  Trinity  Church 
by  the  Colonial  authorities,  and  that  periodically  is 
brought  into  public  notice  in  the  present  day.  Both 
Dominie  Bogardus  and  ex-Director  General  Kieft,  with 
some  few  other  officers  of  the  Province  were  lost  with  the 
vessel.  The  first  shipwreck  on  the  coast  in  the  vicinity 
of  Manhattan,  of  which  we  have  any  account,  was  in  De- 
cember, 1658,  when  the  "Prince  Maurice'7  went  ashore 
about  midnight  on  the  south  shore  of  Long  Island  at  a 
place  called  Sicktewacky,  near  Fire  Island  inlet.  The 
passengers  were  saved,  but  the  ship  was  lost. 

/At  the  date  of  the  capitulation  of  the  Dutch  proprie- 
tors in  the  city  to  the  English  in  1664  a  number  of 
property  holders  of  the  shipbuilding  profession  resided 
in  a  part  of  the  town  then  known  as  "De  Smits  Yaley," 
and  afterward  as  the  "Fly,"  along  the  shore  road  be- 
tween Wall  street  and  the  present  Franklin  Square,  or 
the  line  of  Pearl  street.  The  most  of  these  shipwrights 
lived  outside  the  water  gate  or  city  palisade  at  Wall 
street,  while  only  one  resided  inside  the  enclosure. 
Whether  they  were  all  proprietors  of  shipyards  there  is 
no  means  of  telling  at  this  late  date. 

We  find  in  a  search  through  thr  old  historical 
records  of  the  Dutch  occupation,  references  to  many 
ships,  but  no  data  to  show  whether  they  were  of  domestic 
or  foreign  construction.  There  is  one  paper  that  details 
the  work  done  at  Manhattan  during  Governor  Wouter 
Van  Twiller's  administration,  that  in  1633  consisted  of 
the  ship  "Southerck"  repaired  and  provided  with  new 
knees.  Other  carpenters  have  long  worked  on  ships 
"Hopev  of  Greningen,  and  "Ornlanden."  The  yacht 


COLONIAL  PERIOD.  9 

"Hope,"  captured  in  1632,  was  entirely  rebuilt,  and 
planked  up  higher.  The  yacht  "Prins  William"  has  been 
built.  The  yacht  "Amsterdam"  almost  finished.  A  large 
open  boat.  In  the  yacht  "Wesel"  an  orloop  and  caboose 
were  made.  In  the  yacht  "Vreede"  the  same.  The  boat 
"Omwal"  at  Fort  Orange.  The  yacht  with  a  mizzen  sold 
to  Barent  Dircksen.  The  wood  cutters'  boat,  divers' 
farm  boats,  and  skiffs  were  sold  to  various  parties.  Also 
many  boats  and  yawls  made  for  the  sloops.  Moreover 
the  carpenters  constantly  repaired  and  caulked  the  old 
craft." 

We  now  come  to  the  period  of  the  English  occupa- 
tion of  New  Amsterdam,  when  its  name  was  changed  to 
New  York.  The  population  of  the  place  did  not  exceed 
fifteen  hundred  inhabitants,  and  the  number  of  dwellings 
on  the  island  did  not  much  exceed  two  hundred.*  There 
appears  for  some  years  no  trace  of  activity  in  the  ship- 
yards, probably  on  account  of  the  political  conditions 
affected  by  the  change  of  the  administration,  and  also 
that  during  the  Dutch  occupation  the  island  was  for  the 
most  time  used  merely  as  a  trading  post,  while  under  the 
English  administration  there  was  a  more  free  and  ex- 
tended commercial,  spirit  manifested.  This  change  took 
some  time  to  become  general,  and  the  city  had  in  the 
meantime  extended  far  beyond  the  palisade  at  Wall 
street,  and  largely  increased  in  population.  There  was 
no  longer  a  close  corporation  in  control  of  the  commerce 
of  the  city.  There  was  no  doubt  many  sloops  built  at  this 
period  for  the  trade  on  Hudson  river,  for  there  was  con- 
siderable business  done  as  far  up  the  river  as  Albany. 

The  only  shipbuilder  there  is  any  record  of  at  this 
early  date  was  John  Latham,  who  purchased  some 
"water  lots"  in  1701  in  the  vicinity  of  Dover  street,  and 
established  a  shipyard.  He  was  no  doubt  the  pioneer  in 
that  locality,  that  was  so  long  known  as  the  "Shipyards" 
district.  In  1740  there  were  three  shipyards  in  this 
locality,  Daniel  and  John  Latham,  John  Dallys,  and 


10  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

John  Elvers.  Lathams  old  dwelling  house  that  stood  at 
the  corner  of  Cherry  and  Roosevelt  streets  was  still 
standing  in  1800.  He  seems  to  have  had  a  disposition  to 
invest  in  real  estate  at  times  in  the  city.  The  last  record 
is  of  three  large  plots  in  1752  on  the  shore  front,  near 
Roosevelt  street,  just  west  of  where  the  stream  running 
from  Collect  pond  emptied  into  the  East  River.  Shall 
refer  to  Latham  again  on  the  subject  of  timber. 

Shipbuilding  at  New^  York  could  not  have  been  a 
very  inviting  business  to  engage  in  at  this  early  period, 
for  the  builders  in  the  Massachusetts  province  could  con- 
struct vessels  at  so  much  less  cost,  and  that  is  one  reason 
why  they  obtained  so  many  contracts  for  vessels  from 
foreign  owners.  The  labor  market  was  not  in  harmony 
w^ith  the  local  builders,  though  they  no  doubt  built  a 
few  vessels  for  the  inland  waters.  The  General  Assembly 
of  the  colony  in  1718  presented  to  the  Governor  of  the 
Province  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  that  it  Avas  of 
advantage  to  change  the  law  so  that  vessels  built  in  the 
province  of  British  owners  should  be  free  from  certain 
taxes  on  shipping,  as  it  was  at  this  time  seen  that  the 
shipbuilding  business  was  in  a  very  depressed  condition 
in  the  province  for  the  amount  of  trade  transacted,  but  it 
was  not  until  1736  when  "shipbuilding,  which  in  some  of 
the  neighboring  provinces  is  carried  on  to  a  large  extent, 
and  has  become  a  considerable  part  of  their  returns  to 
Great  Britain  for  many  years,  been  much  neglected  and 
little  used  in  this  province."  It  was  not  only  the  new 
vessels  for  London  merchants,  but  New  England  also 
sent  across  the  Atlantic  large  shipments  of  shipbuilding 
timber.  The  Governor  of  the  Province  a  few  years  later 
in  an  address  to  the  legislative  body  of  the  province,  said 
*  *  *  "I  have  reflected  on  the  decay  of  shipbuilding 
which  for  many  years  has  been  much  regretted,  but  little 
attempted  to  be  retrieved.  I  am  not  ignorant  that  many 
causes  may  be  assigned  for  its  decay,  some  of  which,  and 
particularly  one,  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  the  merchant 


COLONIAL  PERIOD.  11 

or  the  builder  at  present  to  remove;  nor  do  I  see  any 
other  way  whereby  a  remedy  may  be  applied  than  by 
your  aid.  If  the  demands  of  the  builder  be  higher  than 
in  the  neighboring  provinces  the  merchant  will  not,  can- 
not built  here  without  injuring  himself.  If  the  builder 
undertake  the  work  at  the  same  rate  that  is  given  in  the 
neighboring  provinces,  he  complains,  and  I  fear  with  too 
much  truth,  he  only  labors  to  be  undone  for  the  excessive 
wages  of  carpenters  which  he  must  be  obliged  to  hire,  for 
want  of  apprentices,  runs  away  with  his  profit,  and  he 
cannot  take  apprentices,  being  unable  in  his  present 
poverty  to  maintain  them.  It  is  you  alone  who  can  supply 
a  remedy  to  this  evil,  and  you  may  do  it  at  a  very  small 
annual  expense,  for  I  am  persuaded  that  £200  a  year 
given  to  shipbuilding,  with  apprentices  at  the  rate  of  £8 
a  year,  with  each  apprentice  for  six  or  seven  years,  will 
soon  revive  that  necessary  and  useful  work.  It  will 
make  shipbuilders  willing  to  take  apprentices,  enable 
them  in  their  present  necessities  to  maintain  them,  and 
to  build  for  the  merchant  at  as  low  a  rate  as  in  the  neigh- 
boring provinces.  You  will  then  keep  among  you  many 
thousand  pounds  which  are  now  yearly  exported  out  of 
the  province  by  your  neighbors,  who  are  at  present  your 
carriers/'  *  *  *  This  plan  of  subsidy  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  New  York  shipbuilder  from  the  cheaper  built 
vessels  of  his  neighbors,  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
sufficiently  inviting  to  the  law-making  power  to  place  it 
upon  the  statute  books.  These  existing  conditions  were 
largely  overcome  at  a  later  date  by  the  local  shipping 
merchant  and  vessel  owner  becoming  interested  in  some 
of  the  shipyards,  where  their  new  vessels  were  con- 
structed and  repairs  made  to  those  in  service.  Whether 
the  apprentices  were  more  largely  employed  in  the  ship- 
yards than  at  an  earlier  date  there  is  no  record. 

TIMBER. 

The  early  colonists  and  traders  soon  appreciated  the 
wealth  that  lay  in  the  fine  timber  that  stood  on  the 


12  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

Atlantic  coast,  for  it  was  not  only  at  New  Amsterdam 
but  at  New  England  as  well.  The  earliest  shipment 
found  from  NewT  Amsterdam  was  received  at  Amsterdam 
from  Manhattan  in  November,  1626,  on  board  ship 
"Arms  of  Amsterdam/7  considerable  oak  timber  and 
hickory. 

The  first  extended  reference  to  the  shipbuilding  tim- 
ber of  New  Netherlands  is  found  in  a  Holland  document 
of  1649,  referring  to  the  soil  of  the  province:  "It  produces 
several  kinds  of  timber  suitable  for  the  construction  of 
houses  and  ships,  be  they  large  or  small,  consisting  of 
various  sorts  of  oak,  to  wit:  Post  oak,  smooth  white  bark, 
gray  bark,  black  bark,  and  still  another  sort,  which  by 
reason  of  its  softness  is  called  butter  oak.  *  *  * 
Various  sorts  of  nut  timber,  hickory,  large  and  small. 
This  timber  is  very  abundant  here,  and  much  used  as 
firewood  also,  for  which  it  is  right  well  adapted.  Chest- 
nuts, three  sort  beeches,  axe  handle  wood,  ash,  birch, 
pine,  lathwood,  alder,  willow,  thorn,  with  divers  other 
species  adapted  to  many  purposes,  but  their  names  are 
unknown  to  us." 

Colonists  on  arriving  in  the  province  in  1650  were 
after  a  certain  formality  granted  and  allowed  certain 
privileges:  "And  they  shall  be  at  liberty,  gratuitously,  to 
cut  and  draw  from  the  public  forests  as  much  firewood, 
and  as  much  timber  as  they  shall  require  for  the  con- 
struction of  houses  and  vessels."  This  is  an  evidence 
that  some  shipbuilding  was  done  at  New  Amsterdam  at 
a  very  early  date. 

The  shipment  of  shipbuilding  timber  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  under  the  Dutch  Administration  a 
very  profitable  business.  *  *  *  "In  regard  to  the 
timber  that  has  been  sent  as  freight,  whoever  has  any- 
thing here  to  load  ought  not  to  be  repulsed,  but  en- 
couraged: if  things  are  to  succeed  they  must  operate  in 
that  way.  The  timber  was  sent  that  labor  may  be  sup- 
ported. Though  at  present  discredited  and  brought  into 


COLONIAL  PERIOD.  13 

disrepute,  it  will  soon  surmount  the  difficulty  when  im- 
proved. *  *  *  That  the  ship  should  have  arrived 
sooner  home,  ten  or  twelve  days  were  employed  in  taking 
the  timber  in.  It  lay  on  the  bank  alongside  the  vessel 
and  the  crew  undertook  to  haul  and  load  it  for  200  gl:  it 
was  the  finest  weather  that  could  be  expected.  *  *  * 
Though  the  heavy  freight  absorb  all  the  profit  of  the  tim- 
ber, yet  it  is  better,  that  the  people  who  are  inclined  to 
be  industrious,  should  be  accommodated." 

Under  the  English  occupation  several  shiploads  of 
timber  and  plank  were  sent  to  the  British  Navy  yards, 
"there  being  a  great  deal  of  timber  in  the  country,  chiefly 
oak,  the  white  oak  is  the  best;  they  build  many  ships 
with  it."  Sticks  of  timber  for  masts  of  vessels  were  sent  at 
as  late  a  date  as  1700  to  the  parent  country  in  large  quan- 
tity. England  had  been  so  wasteful  in  the  use  of  her 
timber  for  many  years  that  they  began  to  see  they  must 
look  outside  their  local  fields  for  a  supply. 

Earl  Bellomont,  Governor  of  the  province,  in  a  letter 
to  the  Commissioners  of  Trade  and  Plantations  of  Eng- 
land in  1699,  gives  us  a  view  of  the  timber  supply,  and 
exportation  going  on,  at  the  town  at  that  time.  "My 
thoughts  have  been  so  at  work  about  naval  stores  and 
masts  for  the  king's  ships  that  understanding  last  spring 
from  two  honest  Dutchmen  that  had  found  out  a  parcel 
of  vast  pines  on  one  of  the  late  grants  of  land  by  Col. 
Fletcher  to  Mr.  Dellius,  which  they  said  were  big  enough 
for  masts  for  the  biggest  ship  in  the  world,  I  resolved  to 
take  an  account  of  them,  and  for  that  end  sent  Mr. 
Schermerhorn,  one  of  the  Dutchmen  that  discovered 
them  to  me,  and  with  him  John  Latham,  an  able  ship- 
wright, who  learned  his  trade  in  one  of  the  king's  yards 
in  England,  to  view  them,  and  to  take  a  survey  of  all  the 
woods  in  that  part  of  the  province,  I  mean,  to  the  north- 
ward of  New  York,  up  the  Hudson  river,  the  Mohacks 
river,  and  along  the  side  of  Corlears  Lake,  where  Dellius, 
largest  grant  was.  By  my  instructions  Latham  was  to 


14  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

report  what  trees  he  found  fit  for  masts,  what  pitch  pines 
for  making  pitch,  tar  and  rosin,  and  all  other  timber  fit 
for  building  ships  of  war,  as  beams,  planks,  wale  pieces 
and  knees.  Upon  their  return,  which  was  just  a  month 
ago,  they  sent  me  the  journal  of  their  travel  in  the  woods 

*  *     *     and   it   is   signed   by   Mr.    Schermerhorn    and 
Mr.  Latham.    I  send  the  Lieut.  Governor  of  New  York's 
proclamation  forbidding  the  cutting  away  of  those  great 
trees  fit   for  masts   for  the  king's   ships.     But   in  the 
province  of  New  York  people  little  mind  proclamations 
or  laws  either.    I  am  glad  to  find  there  are  pines  of  eleven 
and  twelve  feet  about,  for  either  one  of  those  sizes  is  big 
enough  for  a  first  rate  ship,  as  I  am  informed,  and  I  am 
satisfied  the  trees  might  be  floated  down  the  great  fall, 
and  then  they  will  be  the  cheapest  in  the  world,  for  they 
may  be  all  floated  down  Hudson's  river  to  the  ship's  side 
that  take  them  in  to  carry  them  to  England."    This  fall 
he  mentions  "is  600  yards  broad,  and  at  the  highest  part 
about  50  feet  high     *     *     *     eight  miles  above  Albany." 
It  was  not  only  from  New  York  that  timber  for  the 
British  naval  vessels  was  now  being  sent,  but  from  New 
England    as    well    in    large    quantities,    where    they 
were  also  building  vessels  for  the  merchant  service  for 
English  owners.    The  next  year  Earl  Bellomont  shipped 
another  cargo  of  timber  by  the  ship  "Fortune."     "This 
vessel  stands  the  king  in  £558  19s.,  New  York  money, 

*  *     *     and  Mr.  Latham,  the  shipwright  of  best  skill 
and   experience   here,   values   the   ship   at   nearly   £600 
sterling.    She  is  nearly  nine  years  old     *     *     *     but  the 
king  will  be  no  loser  but  a  gainer,  as  I  have  ordered  the 
matter,  I  mean,  by  sending  home  the  ship  laden  with  ship 
timber.    The  timber  I  have  provided  standing  me  in  £467 
7s.  4d.  this  money.     *     *     *     Also  Capt.  Deering  for  a 
character  of  the  timber  that  is  left  behind  on  the  wharf 
in  this  town,  and  they  will  tell  Lordships  'tis  better  than 
that  which  is  put  on  the  'Fortune,'  for  it  seems  Mr. 
Latham  shipped  that  timber  which  first  came  to  hand, 


COLONIAL  PERIOD.  15 

and  did  not  choose  the  best."  A  little  later  he  advises 
the  Home  office  that  he  has  made  a  contract  for  a  supply 
of  timber  for  masts  for  the  king's  naval  vessels.  "I  have 
made  a  bargain  with  two  men  for  masts  *  *  *  which 
if  they  will  perform  must  prove  the  best  bargain  for  the 
king  that  ever  was  yet  made.  *  *  *  The  articles, 
bonds  and  instructions  are  my  own  drawing,  for  I  was 
forced  at  drawing  them  myself  to  keep  this  design  secret 
from  some  ill  people  at  Albany,  who  are  wicked  enough 
to  hinder  the  good  effects  of  such  a  bargain  by  persuad- 
ing the  Mohack  Indians  either  not  to  part  with  their 
woods  to  the  king,  or  to  hold  them  up  at  an  extravagant 
rate.  *  *  Some  of  the  people  at  Albany  upon  my 

sending  Mr.  Latham  and  these  two  undertakers  last  year 
to  view  those  woods  began  to  practice  with  those  Indians 
and  persuade  them  that  each  of  those  great  pines  for 
masts  was  worth  fifty  beaver  skins.  Mr.  Latham  assures 
me  that  there  are  pines  enough  in  those  woods  on  the 
Mohack  river  to  furnish  the  navy  these  thousand  years 
to  come.  The  twenty-four  masts  I  have  articled  for  will 
serve  a  first  and  second  rate  man  of  war.  The  biggest 
in  Mr.  Taylor's  contract  was  37  inches  diameter.  *  *  * 
I  have  agreed  for  two  masts  of  40  inches  diameter,  which 
will  be  a  rarity  when  sent  home.  *  *  *  I  cannot  but 
flatter  myself  that  this  bargain  for  masts  is  a  very 
valuable  service  to  the  king  and  all  his  dominions:  for 
here  is  a  sufficient  store  for  all.  I  believe  I  shall  save  the 
king  £15,000  a  year  in  the  article  of  masts,  boltsprits  and 
yards:  and  more." 


CHAPTER   II. 


1784  TO  1820. 

EARLY   AMERICAN   NEW   YORK  SHIPBUILDERS  —  THE    "CLER- 
MOXT"    AND    HER   BUILDER. 


HEN  the  City  of  New  York  was  freed  from 
the  presence  and  authority  of  a  foreign 
military  power  on  Nov.  25,  1783,  under 
whose  oppression  it  had  suffered  for  about 
seven  years,  it  was  little  else  than  a  heap 
of  ruins.  During  this  period  nearly  all  kinds  of  in- 
dustrial occupations  were  wholly  suspended,  except- 
ing those  of  military  necessities.  The  wharves  had 
been  permitted  to  go  to  decay  without  any  efforts  being 
made  to  check  their  ruin,  or  to  restore  them  when  they 
became  almost  useless,  excepting  those  used  for  military 
purposes.  Both  public  and  private  buildings  had  been 
appropriated  by  the  military  authorities,  and  of  course 
had  been  marred  and  defaced  by  such  use.  A  large  por- 
tion of  the  city  was  included  in  the  burned  district, 
which  had  been  laid  in  ruins  by  two  great  fires  that 
occurred  during  the  early  part  of  the  war,  and  no 
attempts  had  been  made  since  the  fires  to  remove  the 
ruins  of  the  buildings.  These  long  and  painful  years  of 
its  military  occupation  by  the  British  troops  had  reduced 
the  city  to  little  more  than  a  wreck  of  its  condition  at  the 
beginning  of  the  war.  Previous  to  the  commencement  of 
hostilities  the  population  of  the  city  had  reached  over 
twenty  thousand,  but  the  occupation  of  the  city  by  a 
foreign  foe  had  reduced  the  number  of  permanent  resi- 
dents to  less  than  half  that  number.  Many  of  the  dwell- 
ings of  the  refugees  from  the  city  were  taken  by  the 
British  war  officers  for  military  uses.  For  the  purposes 
of  a  naval  depot  the  shipyards  at  Dover  and  Koosevelt 
streets  w^ere  occupied,  and  the  adjacent  ground  was  en- 
closed and  houses  erected  for  storage  of  material  for  re- 


1784  TO  1820.  17 

pairs  to  the  naval  vessels.  The  shore  front  at  this  locality 
being  well  suited  for  the  purpose,  was  used  as  a  "careen- 
ing yard"  for  vessels  under  repairs.  Several  of  the 
dwellings  situated  on  Cherry  Hill,  where  Cherry  street  at 
present  commences,  were  taken  by  the  naval  officers  on 
shore  duty  for  their  private  quarters,  and  for  their 
offices.  This  locality  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary War  had  some  of  the  finest  residences  in  the  city. 
The  mechanics  for  this  service  were  brought  from  Great 
Britain.  It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  were  many 
vessels  engaged  in  bringing  military  supplies  for  the 
Army  and  the  Navy  during  all  these  years,  and  these 
transports  must  receive  greater  or  less  repairs  during 
every  voyage:  besides  several  naval  vessels  were  kept  at 
this  port  to  convoy  the  transports  from  New  York  for  a 
certain  distance,  and  meet  others  coming  to  the  west- 
ward, to  prevent  their  capture  by  our  privateers.  This 
made  it  necessary  to  have  a  plant  of  some  size  at  the  base 
of  operations,  for  the  repair  of  all  naval  vessels  and 
transports,  as  New  York  was  at  this  period.  There  does 
not  appear  that  there  were  any  vessels  built  in  the  city 
for  the  merchant  service  during  the  seven  years  of 
British  occupancy  of  the  city.  'All  the  old  shipyards 
seem  to  have  passed  out  of  existence,  though  the  locality 
was  still  known  as  "the  shipyards,"'  for  the  owners  had 
sought  more  congenial  surroundings  for  their  business, 
or  had  entered  the  service  of  the  patriot  army.  So  the 
city  became  during  this  period  a  vast  military  depot  for 
the  army  and  navy  of  the  British  Isles,  and  what  com- 
merce the  city  had  was  for  their  account,  or  its  most  loyal 
supporters.  This  is  the  only  interval  when  the  city  did 
not  have  a  ship  yard  from  the  Dutch  occupation. 

After  the  treaty  of  peace  many  of  the  families  that 
had  fled  when  the  city  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy, 
returned,  but  not  at  once  in  sufficient  numbers  to  make 
up  the  loss  of  the  early  exodus.  But  the  revival  of  com- 
merce, and  the  demand  for  the  labor  of  mechanics  of  all 


18  1784  TO  1820. 

kinds,  with  that  of  unskilled  labor,  attracted  men  from 
far  removed  points,  several  ship  carpenters  coming  to  the 
States  from  even  as  far  as  Canada  to  better  their  condi- 
tign.  /In  about  five  years  after  the  restoration  of  peace 
the  city  began  to  show  that  it  had  gained  in  population 
at? its. lossgi  of  the  war  period,  and  that  it  would  take  its 
place"' a^*  one  of  the  foremost  cities  of  the  prospective 
Union  of  States.  During  this  period  there  was  a  very 
limited  amount  of  business  done  in  this  city  in  the  con- 
struction of  new  vessels  on  account  of  the  disturbed  state 
of  political  affairs,  foreign  complications,  and  their  effect 
uppnjthe^ommercial  interests  of  the  new  nation:  it  had 
just  smarted  out  as  an  independent  nation,  and  was  trying 
to/gesjrfs  bearings. 

*  That  there  were  very  limited  facilities  for  shipbuild- 
ing at  Hew  York  immediately  after  the  close  of  the  War 
of  the  Kevolution  is  seen  by  the  fact  that  the  ship 
"Empress  of  China"  built  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  of  360  tons, 
ato€  owned  by  Kobert  Morris  of  New  York  and  Daniel 
Parker  &  Co.,  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  was  cleared  from  New 
"Stbrk  City  for  China  with  a  cargo  of  ginseng,  being  the 
first,  vessel  from  the  States  to  open  commercial  inter- 
course w,ith  that  eastern  empire,  on  February  22,  1784. 
\j4mt  Was  considered  as  a  novelty  in  shipbuilding  circles 
at  the  time  wasrthat  this  vessel  had  her  bottom  covered 
with  sheet  copper,  being  one  of  the  earliest  American 
vessels  so  fitted.  The  first  American  vessel  from  New 
York  to  Great  Britain  after  the  close  of  the  war  was  the 
ship  "Betsy"  for  London  in  May,  1784. 

if  )^hen  our  first  frigates  were  designed  there  was  no 
copper  sheet  mill  in  the  United  States  that  was  able  to 
supply  the  demand  of  the  United  States  government  for 
copper  sheathing  of  these  vessels,  so  the  metal  was 
obtained  in  Great  Britain.  The  record  in  the  Treasury 
department  regarding  the  construction  of  these  vessels 
says:  "I  furnished  you  with  an  estimate  of  the  composi- 
tion metal,  sheathing  copper,  bolts  and  nails,  bunting, 


1784  TO  1820.  19 

and  iron  kitchens  for  the  six  frigates,  all  of  which  were 
ordered  from  Europe:  and  a  note  of  the  anchors,  which 
last  were  postponed  for  a  further  inquiry,  whether  they 
could  not  be  manufactured  in  the  United  States."  The 
Navy  department  in  1801  advanced  ten  thousand  dollars 
to  Paul  Revere  and  Son  of  Boston,  Mass.,  "to  erect  works 
for  manufacturing  sheet  copper,"  and  under  a  contract 
had  delivered  in  two  years  350,000  pounds  in  bolts  and 
sheets  of  copper  for  the  vessels  of  the  navy.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  that  industry  on  the  scale  of  any  import- 
ance to  be  noticed  in  this  country,  though  Paul  Revere 
had  a  foundry  in  1792  where  he  "cast  bells  and  brass 
cannon;  manufactured  sheets,  bolts,  spike  and  nails  from 
malleable  copper  and  cold  rolled."  There  were  for  some 
years  later  many  vessels  sent  to  Great  Britain,  that  were 
built  in  the  United  States,  to  have  their  bottoms  copper 
sheathed,  as  an  export  duty  was  placed  on  the  metal  by 
Great  Britain,  that  with  the  freight  made  it  less  costly 
for  vessels  engaged  in  the  foreign  trade  to  be  coppered  in 
Great  Britain.  Sheathing  copper  was  duty  free. 

Some  of  the  surrounding  conditions  of  shipbuilding 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  18th  century  may  be 
obtained  where  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  says  in  1798 
regarding  the  building  of  the  naval  vessels:  "There  can 
be  no  doubt  entertained  but  the  rise  of  the  price  of  most, 
if  not  all,  the  materials  and  labor  employed  in  building 
and  equipping  the  frigates  has  added  considerably  to  the 
expenditures.  The  rise  of  wages  alone  between  the  date 
of  the  first  estimate  and  the  time  the  frigates  were 
launched,  taking  Philadelphia  for  example,  was  from  9 
shillings  to  15  shillings  per  day,  and  the  rise  in  wrought 
iron,  and  hemp,  about  forty  per  cent."  There  was  at  this 
time,  when  the  "President"  was  built,  no  navy  yard  at 
New  York,  only  two  wharfs  at  Cherry  and  Market 
streets,  and  buildings  for  storage  of  material  for  naval 
use,  just  above  the  private  shipyards.  This  wras  but  a 
temporary  location  for  naval  purposes  until  the  property 


20  1784  TO  1820. 

at  Brooklyn  was  purchased  for  a  navy  yard  in  1801.  The 
Secretary  also  said:  "Docks  will  be  highly  necessary  in 
repairing  our  ships,  to  avoid  the  tedious,  expensive,  and 
sometimes  dangerous  operations  of  heaving  down." 

The  shipbuilder  of  the  colonial  period,  and  for  some 
years  the  American  shipbuilder,  had  one  great  advantage 
in  having  the  raw  material  for  his  structure  so  close  to 
his  hand.  Was  not  the  American  wooden  shipbuilder  of 
the  19th  century  wasteful  with  his  timber  in  his  building 
operations,  and  for  that  reason  the  present  generation  is 
suffering  for  the  want  of  such  material  for  other  pur- 
poses? The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  in  1814  said:  "When  it 
is  considered  that  one  74  gun  ship  requires  2,000  large 
oak  trees,  equal  to  the  estimated  produce  of  57  acres,  the 
importance  of  securing  for  public  use  all  that  valuable 
species  of  oak  which  is  found  only  on  the  southern  sea- 
board, is  sufficiently  obvious."  Along  the  coast  of  Maine 
to  North  Carolina  the  white  oak  forests  extended  several 
miles  inland,  and  the  supply  of  hickory  and  white  pine 
was  abundant,  and  more  so,  for  the  local  shipbuilders. 
Live  oak  was  the  product  of  the  coast  States  below  North 
Carolina,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  it  was  used  for  shipbuild- 
ing purposes  much  before  1750,  for  in  that  year  a  vessel 
built  of  live  oak,  and  named  "Live  Oak,"  arrived  at 
Charleston,  S.  C.,  and  by  the  knowledge  gained  of  the 
valuable  properties  of  this  timber  for  shipbuilding,  a  new 
era  in  that  industry  set  in  in  that  locality.  The  use  of 
this  kind  of  timber  in  the  construction  of  vessels  at  New 
York  was,  in  all  probability,  not  until  after  the  close  of 
the  War  of  the  Eevolution.  The  live  oak  for  the  first 
frigates  built,  was  obtained  at  first  by  sending  labor  from 
the  northern  States  to  fell  the  trees,  and  cut  them  to 
partial  shape  on  the  ground,  but  this  did  not  prove  a  suc- 
cess at  first,  as  the  workmen  were  unacclimated.  This 
was  the  largest  amount  of  live  oak  that  had  been  sent  to 
the  shipyards  of  the  northern  States,  for  prior  to  this 
occasion  but  a  small  amount  had  been  brought  here.  As 


1784  TO  1820.  21 

early  as  1799  there  is  record  of  vessels  for  sale  that  "were 
built  of  pasture  oak,  live  oak,  and  locust;  is  composition 
bolted,  copper  fastened,  and  coppered  to  the  bends." 

With  the  increase  of  population  the  city  began  to 
spread  out,  and  the  farm  land  east  of  the  shipyards  was 
cut  through  by  streets,  lots  laid  out,  and  dwellings  soon 
began  to  be  built  and  occupied  mostly  by  the  industrial 
class  of  people.  *  The  old  shipyards  were  crowded  out  by 
the  expansion  of  the  city,  and  the  first  move  made  toward 
Corlears  Hook  with  this  industry .1 

On  account  of  the  very  incomplete  record  the  earliest 
builder  found  has  been  Samuel  Akerly,  (or  Ackerly),  who 
built  in  1792  at  his  yard,  foot  Market  street,  two  vessels. 
At  this  time  there  were  not  more  than  thirty  ship  car- 
.penters  in  the  city.  There  was  another  builder  named 
Thomas  Cheeseman,  father  of  Forman  Cheeseman,  who 
will  be  mentioned  more  fully  at  a  later  date,  who  had  a 
yard  at  the  same  period,  but  little  is  known  of  his  build- 
ing operations.  This  Thomas  Cheeseman  may  have  been 
engaged  in  shipbuilding  just  prior  to  the  Eevolutionary 
War,  for  he  was  the  owner  of  75  feet  shore  front  in  1772 
between  the  present  Pike  and  Eutgers  streets,  and  it  was 
this  spot  Forman  Cheeseman  occupied  after  he  left  the 
firm  of  Cheeseman  and  Brownne.  There  were  two  other 
shipbuilders,  a  few  years  later,  Thomas  Vail,  and  Wil- 
liam Vincent,  the  former  at  one  time  having  a  yard  foot 
Eutgers  street.  There  were  at  this  time  six  Lathams,  all 
ship  carpenters,  and  no  doubt  of  the  family  of  John 
Latham,  who  resided  in  the  old  ship  yard  vicinity,  two  of 
them  builders,  but  what  vessels  there  is  no  trace.  The 
early  vessels  noted  on  another  page  were  no  doubt  con- 
structed by  some  of  these  named  builders.  *At  this  time 
it  was  said,  "The  shipyards  are  all  along  Lombard 
(Monroe)  streets.  Beekmans,  Tillous,  Franklin  and 
Ackleys  wharfs  betwixt  the  shipyards  and  Eutgers 
house." «  These  builders  were  the  pioneers  of  the  New 


22  1784  TO  1820. 

York  City  shipbuilders  just  after  the  formation  of  the 
United  States. 

Samuel  Ackerly  was  an  owner  of  real  estate  in  the 
vicinity  of  his  shipyard,  and  as  late  as  1835  the  city 
bought  from  his  heirs  a  one-third  interest  in  the  water 
front  at  Pike  street.  The  new  shipyards  began  to  locate 
further  up  the  river  in  a  few  years,  so  that  by  1800  we 
find  Cheeseman  and  Brownne,  the  latter  the  builder  of 
Robert  Fulton's  "Clermont"  in  1807,  located  at  Cherry 
and  Clinton  streets,  and  a  few  years  later  Adam  and 
Noah  Brown,  and  Eckford  and  Beebe,  in  the  same 
vicinity.  Christian  Bergh*  was  one  of  the  early  builders 
who  opened  a  shipyard  at  Corlears  Hook,  for  its  found  he 
purchased  a  lot  of  ground  in  1799  of  23  ft.  x  80  ft.  on 
Crown  Point  street,  that  was  on  the  river  front,  but  too 
small  for  a  shipyard,  probably  for  a  dwelling.  He  had  a 
shipyard  in  that  locality  a  few  years  later,  but  this  may 
have  been  rented  for  his  business,  as  other  builders  had 
done.  He  must  have  been  very  successful  in  business,  for 
in  1810  we  find  he  purchased  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
his  yard,  "on  the  banks  of  the  East  River  near  a  place 
called  Corlears  Hook"  a  plot  of  about  150  ft.  x  200  ft.  for 
thirteen  thousand  dollars,  and  about  the  same  time  six 
lots  on  Scammel  street  for  f 4,370.  He  was  considered  one 
of  the  solid  men  of  the  vicinity.  The  beach  of  this  water 
front  on  Corlears  Hook  was  the  most  used  for  bathing 
purposes  of  any  on  the  east  side  of  the  city  on  account  of 
its  fine  sandy  bottom  and  the  shelving  shore,  and  was 

*It  has  been  mentioned  by  more  than  one  writer  that  Chiistian  Bergh, 
Jr.,  was  appointed  to  superintend  the  construction  of  the  frigate  "President." 
This  is  an  error,  for  the  navy  record  shows  a  report  where  it  says:  "State- 
ment of  the  progress  made  in  building  a  frigate  to  carry  44  guns  at  New 
York  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Foreman  Cheeseman  and  Capt.  Silas  Talbot, 
Supt."  The  naval  constructor  did  not  make  a  contract  to  build  the  vessel, 
but  was  employed  by  the  government,  and  they  were  taken  "from  the  best 
qualified  of  their  profession,  and  in  order  that  the  public  should  derive 
all  the  advantage  of  their  whole  time,  they  have  been  detached  from  all 
private  pursuits  by  a  liberal  compensation,  at  the  rate  of  $2,000  per  annum." 
Christian  Bergh's  name  does  not  appear  in  any  of  the  naval  papers  of 
record  for  the  building  of  the  "President." 


TO  1820.  23 

used  by  the  members  of  the  Baptist  churches  of  the  city 
in  their  religious  immersion  exercises,  that  drew  large 
audiences  to  the  spot  on  such  occasions.  These  were 
the  principal  shipyards  on  the  East  River  in '1805.  At 
this  time  there  were  117  shipwrights  and  ship  carpenters 
in  the  city.*/  It  was  a  year  or  so  later,  that  one  of  those 
experiments  in  transportation  of  such  a  radical  type  of  a 
full  working  size,  was  put  under  construction,  and  one 
that  has  had  such  a  marked  effect  upon  the  transporta- 
tion of  passengers  and  goods  over  the  whole  civilized 
world.  This  was  the  construction  of  Robert  Fulton's 
steamboat  "Clermont." 

THE  "CLERMOXT"  AND  HER  BUILDER. 

Robert  Fulton  has  justly  received  all  the  credit  for 
the  combination^  of  the  several  parts  in  making  the  first 
successful  steamboat,  the  "Clermont,"  wThich  comprised 
the  application  of  the  steam  engine  to  the  propelling 
agent  in  the  shape  of  the  vertical  side  wheels,  while  the 
builder  of  the  hull  of  the  vessel  has  been  but  little  known 
or  referred  to  as  her  constructor. 

Charles  Brownne  was  born  in  London,  England, 
August  24,  1766,  and  served  some  time  in  the  British 
dock  yards.  This  was  at  a  time  when  Great  Britain 
placed  restrictions  upon  all  of  her  subjects  who  were 
mechanics  from  emigrating  to  the  United  States,  espec- 
ially those  who  had  received  their  instructions  in  "the 
art  of  shipbuilding"  in  the  government  dock  yards,  and 
this  may  account  for  his  name  having  the  affix  of  ne,  as 
his  parents'  name  was  Brown.  His  name  has  been 
variously  spelled.  Cadwallader  D.  Colden  in  his  "Life 
of  Robert  Fulton,  1817,"  in  the  list  of  steam  vessels  built 
under  the  direction  of  Robert  Fulton,  spells  his  name 

*There  were  at  the  time  of  the  allied  trades,  14  small  boat  builders. 
12  brass  founders,  3  caulkers,  9  ship  joiners,  59  riggers,  40  sail  makers 
and  36  sawyers  in  the  city. 

fSee  Scientific  American  Supplement,  Nov.  2,  1007,  "Robert  Fulton 
and  the  Side- Wheel  Steamboat." 


24  1784  TO  1820. 

Brown.  In  all  his  conveyances  of  real  estate  his  name  is 
spelled  with  the  affix:  the  record  of  all  the  registered 
vessels  built  by  him  show  his  name  with  the  affix:  the 
tombstone  in  St.  Paul's  Church  yard  covering  the  graves 
of  his  sister  and  his  daughter  shows  the  same  spelling: 
and  the  death  notices  in  the  papers  at  the  time  of  his  de- 
cease have  the  name  in  the  same  form.  This  is  sufficient 
evidence  that  Cadwallader  D.  Golden  was  not  correct 
when  he  said  Charles  Brown  built  the  "Clermont";  his 
name  was  Charles  Brownne  and  as  such  he  should  be 
known.  There  is  no  record  where  he  landed  in  this 
country,  but  it  was  during  the  spring  of  1788 :  nor  do  we 
find  for  the  early  days  in  this  country  where  he  was  em- 
ployed, nor  how  far  he  was  advanced  in  his  trade.  His 
name  first  appears  in  New  York  directory  for  1794  as  a 
shipwright.  This  was  at  the  time  the  United  States 
government  was  having  built  at  New  York  the  frigate 
"President,"  under  charge  of  Naval  Constructor  Forman 
Cheeseman,  who  was  subsequently  his  partner  in  the 
business  of  shipbuilding  for  some  years,  and  it  is  more 
than  probable  he  was  employed  in  the  construction  of 
that  vessel,  that  was  discontinued  when  half  finished. 
Work  on  this  vessel  was  started  again  in  1799  and  the 
whole  completed  in  thelspring  of  1800 'under  the  same 
naval  constructor.  During  this  year  fForman  Cheeseman 
and  Charles  Brownne  opened  a  shipyard  at  what  is  now 
known  as  the  block  bounded  by  Montgomery,  Clinton, 
Cherry,  and  Munroe  streets^  about  two  blocks  inland  from 
where  the  N.  Y.,  N.  H.  &  H.  Eailroad  Co.  have  their 
present  freight  docks.  This  appears  to  have  been  the 
first  of  the  junior  partner's  business  on  his  own  account. 
This  partnership  continued  until  about  1805  or  ?06,  when 
Brownne  continued  the  business  in  his  own  name  for 
several  years.  •  About  1804  the  firm  took  another  yard  at 
the  foot  of  Stanton  street^  on  what  was  known  as  Man- 
hattan Island,  that  afterward  became  so  famous  as  a 
shipbuilding  center. 


1784  TO  1820.  25 

It  is  readily  seen  that  the  builder  of  the  "Clermont's" 
hull  had  been  associated  in  business  with  one  of  the  fore- 
most shipbuilders  of  New  York  at  that  time,  and  that  his 
industrial  experience  had  been  very  broad,  for  he  not 
only  had  been  engaged  in  naval  work  before  coming  to 
this  country,  but  while  in  New  York  City  was  employed 
on  the  frigate  "President/'  and  also  on  merchant  vessels. 
His  employment  in  Great  Britain  and  then  in  this 
country,  under  different  principles  of  construction,  must 
certainly  have  broadened  his  knowledge  of  the  "art  of 
shipbuilding."  This  may  have  been  one  of  the  reasons 
why  Kobert  Fulton  had  engaged  him  to  construct  the 
"Clermont." 

It  seems  at  first  sight  of  the  subject  as  being  re- 
markable that  there  has  never  been  found  any  drawing 
of  the  vessel,  nor  the  sketch  of  a  proposed  design,  nor  a 
cut  of  the  vessel  during  her  service,  nor  a  contract  for  the 
construction  of  the  vessel:  but  when  surrounding  condi- 
tions are  examined  it  is  found  that  the  vessel  was  an  ex- 
periment, and  in  all  probability  was  constructed  like 
many  other  experiments  of  a  mechanical  nature  at  a  later 
date;  it  was  started  without  any  detail  plans,  but  carried 
on  step  by  step,  worked  out  as  it  progressed  in  form,  with 
possibly  some  alterations,  until  the  finished  structure 
was  unlike  what  was  first  thought  best  for  the  purpose. 
The  general  design  of  the  hull  of  the  vessel,  and  the  ma- 
terials for  its  construction,  were  no  doubt  the  suggestions 
of  the  builder.  We  nowhere  find  that  Kobert  Fulton 
claimed  to  be  a  naval  architect,  though  he  had  professed 
to  be  a  civil  engineer.  He  no  doubt  had  a  theoretical 
knowledge  of  naval  architecture  prior  to  building  the 
"Clermont,"  that  he  had  gained  during  his  experiments 
of  steam  propulsion  with  his  small  experimental  vessels, 
and  also  in  his  experiments  with  his  submarine  boat,  and 
torpedos,  but  as  a  designer  or  a  constructor  he  had  no 
experience.  Let  there  be  borne  in  mind  that  Kobert  K. 
Livingston,  who  was  the  capitalist  of  the  enterprise,  had 


26  1784  TO  1820. 

been  engaged  in  experiments  with  the  steamboat  while 
Robert  Fulton  was  in  Europe,  and  no  doubt  his  knowl- 
edge of  the  trials  he  had  encountered  in  his  efforts  to 
obtain  a  proper  propelling  agent,  was  of  much  value  to 
Robert  Fulton  in  his  making  of  the  proper  combination 
for  the  "Clermont." 

Prior  to  the  construction  of  the  "Clermont"  the 
longest  merchant  vessel  built  at  New  York  was  120  feet 
in  length,  w^hile  the  frigate  "President"  for  the  United 
States  Navy  was  but  174  feet  10^  inches  in  length  on  the 
gun  deck.  The  "Clermont"  was  140  feet  in  length,  being 
several  feet  longer  than  any  former  merchant  vessel  built 
at  New  York,  and  more  than  probable  in  this  country. 
There  was  not  alone  the  problem  of  design  for  a  longer 
vessel,  but  for  one  to  carry  a  fixed  weight  of  engine  and 
boiler,  and  of  such  a  model*  as  to  provide  for  the  proper 
distribution  of  weights  on  a  light  draft  of  water. 

The  only  account  of  any  details  of  the  building  of  the 
hull  of  this  vessel,  thus  far  brought  to  light,  is  furnished 
through  The  Marine  and  Naval  Architect  that  was  pub- 
lished in  1853  by  John  W.  Griffiths,  who  was  a  New  York 
shipbuilder,  and  whose  father  was  a  ship  carpenter  in 
New  York  City  at  the  period  the  "Clermont"  was  build- 
ing. This  work  says:  "It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to 
furnish  a  brief  description  of  Mr.  Fulton's  first  effort  at 
steamboat  building,  more  particularly  when  we  are 
assurred  that  no  mechanical  drawing  of  the  hull  was  ever 
made.  The  boat  was  133  feet  long,  18  feet  wide  and  7 
feet  deep,  and  was  subsequently  made  22  feet  wide  by 
adding  a  strip  of  four  feet  to  her  middle,  which  also 
increased  her  length  to  141  feet.  Her  bottom  was  formed 
of  yellow  pine  plank  of  1|  inches  thick,  tongued  and 
grooved  and  set  together  with  white  lead.  This  bottom 
was  laid  on  a  transverse  platform  and  molded  out  with 

*The  so-called  model  of  the  "Clermont"  in  the  Smithsonian  Institute 
will  no  doubt  be  a  curiosity  to  future  generations,  with  its  four  sharp 
knuckles. 


1784  TO  1820.  27 

batten  and  nails  to  the  form  required.  The  shape  being 
thus  formed,  floors  of  oak  and  spruce  were  placed  across, 
the  spruce  floors  being  4  in.  x  8  in.  and  2  feet  apart,  the 
oak  floors  being  reserved  for  the  engine  space  and  the 
spruce  for  the  ends,  the  oak  floors  being  both  sided  and 
molded  8  inches.  Her  top  timbers,  which  were  of  spruce 
and  extended  from  a  log  which  formed  the  bilge  to  the 
deck,  were  sided  6  inches  and  molded  8  inches  at  the  heel, 
and  both  sided  and  molded  4  inches  at  the  head.  She  had 
no  guards  when  first  built,  and  was  steered  by  a  wheel 
in  a  cockpit.  *  *  *  As  no  complete  draft  of  the  hull 
of  this  boat,  either  before  or  after  she  was  widened,  has 
ever  been  shown,  the  world  cannot  contrast  all  the  im- 
provements of  nearly  half  a  century." 

A  most  valuable  letter  on  the  subject  of  the  "Cler- 
mont"  has  been  placed  at  the  service  of  the  writer  by  the 
owner  of  the  letter,  Mr.  T.  V.  Hoffman,  president  New 
York  Historical  Society,  from  which  extracts  of  the  de- 
fects found  in  three  months'  service  of  the  vessel  are 
taken.  This  letter  is  an  original  from  Robert  Fulton  to 
Kobert  E.  Livingston,  who  was  the  associate  of  the 
former  in  this  enterprise,  and  is  dated  at  Washington, 
D.  C.,  Nov.  20,  1807.  The  letter  says  in  part:  *  *  * 
"It  is  now  necessary  to  consider  how  to  put  our  first 
boat  in  a  complete  state  for  8  or  10  years,  and  when  I 
reflect  that  the  present  one  is  so  weak  that  she  must 
have  additional  knees  and  timbers,  new  side  timbers, 
deck  beams  and  deck,  new  windows  and  cabins  altered, 
that  she  perhaps  must  be  sheathed,  her  boiler  taken  out 
and  a  new  one  put  in,  her  axles  forged,  and  iron  work 
strengthened;  with  all  this  work  the  saving  of  the  present 
hull  is  of  little  consequence,  particularly  as  many  of  her 
knees,  bolts,  timbers  and  planks  could  enter  into  the 
construction  of  a  new  boat.  My  present  opinion  there- 
fore is  that  we  should  build  a  new  hull,  her  knees  and 
floor  timbers  to  be  of  oak,  her  bottom  planks  of  2  inch 
oak,  her  side  plank  2  inch  oak  for  three  feet  high.  *  *  *" 


28  1784  TO  1820. 

There  is  another  paper  bearing  on  the  same  subject 
from  Judge  Joseph  Story,  who  was  as  a  lawyer,  one  well 
read  in  maritime  law  at  the  time,  and  an  Associate  Judge 
United  States  Supreme  Court  during  the  early  years  of 
the  "Clermont"  service  on  the  river.  In  a  paper  on 
"The  Development  of  Science  and  Art"  he  says  of  Eobert 
Fulton  and  the  steamboat:  "I  have  heard  the  illustrious 
inventor  relate,  in  an  animated  and  affecting  manner,  the 
history  of  his  labors  and  discouragements.  When  (said 
he)  I  was  building  my  first  steamboat  at  New  York  the 
project  was  viewed  by  the  public  either  with  indifference 
or  with  contempt,  as  a  visionary  scheme.  My  friends 
indeed  were  civil,  but  they  were  shy.  They  listened  with 
patience  to  my  explanations,  but  with  a  settled  cast  of 
incredulity  on  their  countenances.  I  felt  the  full  force 
of  the  lamentation  of  the  poet, 

Truths  would  teach,  or  save  a  sinking  land, 
All  fear,  none  aid  you,  and  few  understand. 
As  I  had  occasion  to  pass  daily  to  and  from  the  building 
yard  while  my  boat  was  in  progress,  I  have  often  loitered 
unknown  near  the  idle  group  of  strangers,  gathering  in 
little  circles,  and  heard  various  inquiries  as  to  the  object 
of  this  new  vehicle.  The  language  was  uniformly  that  of 
scorn,  or  sneer,  or  ridicule.  The  loud  laugh  often  rose  at 
my  expense.  *  *  *  I  invited  many  friends  to  go  on 
board  to  witness  the  first  successful  trip.  Many  of  them 
did  me  the  favor  to  attend  as  a  matter  of  personal  re- 
spect, but  it  was  manifest  they  did  it  with  reluctance, 
fearing  to  be  the  partners  of  my  mortification,  and  not  of 
my  triumph.  I  was  well  aware,  that  in  my  case  there 
were  many  reasons  to  doubt  of  my  success." 

Fulton  refers  to  the  hulls  of  the  early  steamboats 
built  for  him  in  his  patent  of  February  11,  1809.  To  this 
time  he  had  built  the  "Clermont"  or  "North  Kiver,"  had 
designed  the  "Car  of  Neptune,"  and  had  carried  on  some 
experiments  of  the  resistance  of  bodies  moving  in  water, 
being  indebted  for  many  of  his  tables  in  his  patent  to 


1784  TO  1820.  29 

Charnock's  "History  of  Marine  Architecture."  His  ex- 
perience of  more  than  a  year  in  the  practical  operation 
of  this  vessel  on  her  route,  must  have  been  of  great  value 
to  him.  He  said  in  the  patent,  of  the  hulls:  "To  give 
room  for  the  machinery,  passengers  and  merchandise,  I 
build  my  boats  five  or  more  times  as  long  as  their  ex- 
treme breadth  at  the  water  line.  The  extreme  breadth 
may  be  one-third  from  her  bow,  or  in  the  middle,  in  which 
case  the  water  line  will  form  two  equal  segments  of  a 
circle  united  at  the  ends.  To  diminish  the  plus  and 
minus  pressure  I  make  the  bow  and  stern  sharp  to  angles 
of  at  least  60  deg.,  and  that  the  boat  may  draw  as  little 
water  as  possible  I  build  it  flat  or  nearly  so  on  the  bot- 
tom. *  *  To  prevent  the  boat  making  leeway  she 
has  leeboard  or  boards  which  are  let  down  into  the  water 
while  she  is  sailing:  hitherto  there  have  been  two  lee- 
boards  on  each  side  of  the  boat,  one  on  each  side  near  the 
bow  and  one  on  each  side  near  the  stern." 

There  is  one  other  authority  from  whom  we  may  gain  a 
little  knowledge  of  the  form  of  the  hulls  of  the  pioneer 
steamboats  in  this  country,  and  that  is  from  the  "Treatise 
on  the  Steam  Engine"  by  Prof.  James  Kenwick*  1830,  of 
Columbia  College,  where  he  says  in  referring  to  the  suc- 
cess of  the  "Clermont"  and  John  Stevens'  "Phenix": 
"From  that  time  to  the  death  of  Fulton,  the  steamboats 
of  the  Atlantic  coast  were  gradually  improved  until  their 
speed  amounted  to  8  or  9  miles  per  hour,  a  velocity  that 
Fulton  conceived  to  be  the  greatest  that  could  be  given  to 
a  steamboat.  To  this  inference  he  was  probably  led  by 
the  observation  of  the  increased  resistance  growing  out 
of  the  wave  raised  in  their  front.  His  three  earlier  boats, 
"The  Clermont,"  the  "Car  of  Neptune,"  and  the  "Para- 
gon" were  flat  bottomed,  their  bows  forming  acute 


*Prof.  Renwick,  at  the  time  of  the  North  River  of  Clermont  being  in 

service,  was  an  instructor  in  Natural   Philosophy   in   Columbia   College  in 

New  York  City,  and  in  1814  was  an  officer  in  the  Engineering  Corps,  U.  S. 
Army. 


30  1784  TO  1820. 

curved  wedges,  the  several  horizontal  sections  of  which 
were  similar.  His  last  boats  had  keels,  but  they  were 
introduced  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  increase  their 
strength.  In  the  boats  constructed  by  his  successors, 
after  his  death,  a  nearer  approach  was  made  to  the  usual 
form  of  a  ship,  but  the  waves  still  formed  an  important 
obstacle." 

Putting  all  these  facts  and  opinions  together  of  the 
shape  and  construction  of  the  "Clermont,"  it  is  manifest 
that  it  was  an  experiment  of  a  radical  form,  and  one  that 
required  much  mechanical  ability  and  experience  to  give 
the  vessel  its  proper  shape,  so  that  the  fixed  weights 
could  be  properly  placed  for  the  vessel  to  float  on  an  even 
keel,  otherwise  the  vessel  would  have  been  far  from  a 
success.  Some  credit  for  this  certainly  should  be  given 
to  the  builder  of  the  hull.  If  the  trial  had  been  a  failure 
must  not  the  designer  and  builder  of  the  hull  have  shared 
the  loss  of  credit  for  professional  ability  as  a  ship- 
builder? Designers  or  constructors  of  the  hull  of  a  suc- 
cessful steam  vessel  at  the  present  day  receive  their  share 
of  credit  for  the  vessel,  and  why  should  not  Charles 
Brownne  receive  honorable  mention  at  least  for  his  share 
of  the  skill  in  the  construction  of  the  "Clermont"? 

The  next  steamboat  Robert  Fulton  had  built  after 
the  "Clermont"  was  the  "Karitan,"  for  J.  E.  and  K.  J. 
Livingston,  by  the  builder  of  the  "Clermont,"  to  run  from 
New  York  to  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.  Fulton  left  a  few 
details  and  a  drawing  of  the  vessel,  in  the  former  of 
which  he  says,  "As  you  will  have  more  and  greater  waves 
than  the  North  River  boat  the  wheel  guards  must  be  so 
constructed  that  the  head  of  the  wave  shall  not  strike 
under  them.  I  would  finish  them  as  here  delineated:  they 
are  4  feet  from  the  water.  Keelsons  for  the  boiler  8  feet 
6  inches  from  outside  to  outside;  keelsons  for  the 
machinery  7  feet  from  outside  to  outside:  hatchway  to 
let  in  the  boiler  8  feet  4  inches  wide  by  21  feet  long."  In 
the  drawing  for  this  vessel  there  is  the  hollow  trough  or 


1784  TO  1820.  31 

keel  noted  in  the  contract  for  the  "Car  of  Neptune." 
There  is  not  the  sharp  angular  meeting  of  the  bow  and 
the  stern  lines  with  the  side  lines  of  the  vessel,  as  called 
for  by  a  so-called  model;  nor  do  the  leeboards  show  on  the 
drawing. 

While  Fulton  was  having  the  "Raritan"  built  he 
entered  into  a  contract  with  Charles  Brownne  in  October, 
1808,  on  his  own  account,  for  the  construction  of  the 
second  steamboat  for  the  Hudson  river  line,  that  was 
named  "Car  of  Neptune":  this  was  only  a  few  months 
after  the  "North  River"  x  "Clermont"  was  enlarged. 
This  contract  appears  to  be  the  first  paper  of  authority 
giving  any  of  the  details  for  the  construction  of  Kobert 
Fulton's  early  steamboats.  The  following  copy  was 
made  from  the  original  contract,  that  was  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  writer,  and  it  shows  many  of  the  provisions 
for  her  construction.  The  plan  of  the  vessel  referred  to 
cannot  be  found. 

"New  York,  October  the  first,  eighteen  hundred  and 
eight.  *  *  *  I,  Charles  Brownne,  shipbuilder  of  the 
City  of  New  York,  do  engage  to  build  and  deliver  to 
Robert  Fulton,  Esq.,  or  his  order,  a  boat  of  the  following 
dimensions:  One  hundred  and  fifty-seven  feet  long  on  her 
bottom,  one  hundred  and  sixty-three  feet  long  on  her 
deck,  extreme  breadth  of  her  bottom  eighteen  feet,  ex- 
treme breadth  on  her  deck  twenty-two  feet,  formed 
exactly  agreeable  to  a  plan  of  Robert  Fulton's,  dated  4th 
September  last,  and  now  in  my  possession. 

"Details  nearly  as  follows: 

"Bottom  perfectly  flat  and  hogged  up  in  a  regular 
curve  of  3  inches  from  stem  to  stern.  A  hollow  trough  or 
keel  amidships  100  feet  in  length,  to  draw  off  the  water, 
as  in  the  present  boat.  Every  third  or  fourth  timber  of 
oak,  all  lower  knees  of  oak.  All  oak  to  be  of  the  best 
seasoned  white  oak,  and  all  parts  where  particular  strain 
lies,  to  be  of  best  seasoned  white  oak.  To  plank  her  bot- 
tom, and  three  feet  up  each  of  her  sides  from  the  bottom 


32  1784  TO  1820. 

with  the  best  seasoned  3  inch  pine,  rabbetted  together: 
the  remainder  of  her  sides  and  deck  to  be  of  2-inch  pine, 
long  lengths  and  well  seasoned. 

"To  have  all  the  joiners'  work  done  in  the  best  New 
York  style,  and  of  seasoned  stuff.  To  have  the  plumbing, 
painting  and  glazing  finished  equal  if  not  superior  to  the 
present  boat.  To  finish  her  interior  parts,  that  is,  cabins, 
berths,  lockers,  drawers,  bars,  pantries  and  all  things 
agreeable  to  the  before  mentioned  drawing.  To  finish  the 
wheel  guards  complete,  and  a  cover  to  each  wheel.  To 
fix  the  oak  frame  to  receive  the  machinery;  to  finish  its 
iron  work,  and  all  the  iron  work  of  the  boat,  but  to  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  machinery  or  mason  s  work.  To 
furnish  and  thoroughly  secure  the  diagonal  braces.  To 
finish  and  fit  four  leeboards  complete,  but  not  their 
blocks  and  rigging.  To  furnish  two  masts  with  their 
booms,  studding  sail  booms  and  yards,  but  not  rigging, 
sails,  anchors  or  cables.  To  furnish  a  capstan,  rudder, 
tiller  and  tiller  wheel.  To  furnish  davits  to  suspend  the 
boats.  Hatches  with  coverings  of  oil  cloth  or  tarpaulin 
to  cover  the  machinery  and  skylights:  and  in  fact  to 
execute  everything  detailed  in  Mr.  Fulton's  letter  dated 
9th  of  August  last.  To  launch  her  and  deliver  her  safe 
and  sound  in  all  her  parts  in  April  next  for  the  sum  of 
eight  thousand  two  hundred  dollars. 

Payable  as  follows: 

f  1,000  8th  of  Oct. 
1,000  8th  of  Nov. 
1,000  1st  of  Jan'y. 
1,000  1st  of  March 
1,000  when  launched. 

After  the  launch 

3,200  in  three  bills. 
f  1,000  in  2  mos.     f  1,000  in  4  mos.     $1,200  in  6  mos. 

"And  if  while  the  hull  of  the  boat  is  building  Mr. 
Fulton  should  make  any  alterations  in  the  arrangements 
of  his  cabins,  or  interior  work,  I  agree  to  execute  them 


1784  TO  1820.  33 

agreeable  to  his  future  directions,  provided  such  altera- 
tions should  not  necessitate  me  to  undoe  any  part  of 
the  work  which  may  at  the  time  be  fixed,  nor  add 
evidently  to  the  quantity  or  expense  of  the  work  here 
contracted  to  be  executed. 

"I  agree  to  these  conditions, 

"KOBEKT  FULTON." 
Witness 

LEWIS  CLAPHAM. 

This  vessel  was  completed  and  placed  in  service  on 
the  New  York  and  Albany  line  in  September,  1809. 

It  appears  the  further  the  search  is  made  into  condi- 
tions surrounding  the  two  owners  of  this  vessel,  that  the 
more  confusing  it  becomes  to  obtain  a  clue  to  why  there 
has  never  been  found  a  cut,  painting  or  drawing  of  the 
"Clermont"  while  afloat.  Here  we  find  those  having  all 
interest  in  the  enterprise  to  be  men  of  learning,  large 
business  experience,  and  wide  knowledge  of  the  world  by 
travel,  for  that  period.  They  were  also  members  of  the 
Academy  of  Arts,  and  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society,  Robert  R.  Livingston  being  president  of  the 
former  society  many  years.  Robert  Fulton  was  originally 
a  portrait  painter,  and  his  skill  at  drawing  and  in  water 
colors  was  well  known  at  the  time.  Now,  why  with  all 
this  talent  for  painting  and  drawing,  and  his  experience 
had  been  in  the  mechanical  line  in  the  latter,  did  Fulton 
neglect  to  leave  a  likeness  in  some  form  of  the  "Cler- 
mont" while  in  service?  There  are  no  individual  cuts 
of  steam  vessels  of  any  value  until  1814  found  in  any 
publication,  though  some  of  the  advertisements  of  the 
steam  boat  companies  as  early  as  1810  contained  a  cut 
that  served  for  any  steam  vessel.  The  first  copper  plate 
engraving  having  a  steam  vessel  is  in  the  "Portfolio"  of 
November,  1813.  This  was  intended  in  all  probability 
for  the  "Paragon."  Steel  plate  engravings  came  in  later. 
As  for  wood  cuts  they  were  made  at  this  time  by  only 
one  man  in  this  country,  Dr.  Alexander  Anderson  of  New 


34 


1784  TO  1820. 


York,  who  was  at  the  time  a  member  of  the  Academy  of 
Arts  with  Livingston  and  Fulton.  The  earliest  in- 
dividual cut  of  any  of  Fulton's  steamboats  is  that  of  the 
"Paragon,"  engraved  by  Dr.  Anderson  and  found  in  Vol. 
2  of  the  American  Medical  and  Philosophical  Register  of 
1814,  with  descriptive  matter  by  R.  R.  Livingston.  Why 
we  have  no  likeness  of  the  "Clermont"  while  in  service, 
will  always  remain  a  mystery  past  finding  out. 

The  first  cuts  of  the  "Clermont"  that  have  thus  far 
been  found,  having  any  authority  attached  to  them  are 


STEAMBOAT  '"CLEEMOXT." 

the  two  on  pages  34  and  35.  The  first  one  is  from  the 
Mechanics  Magazine  of  New  York  of  August,  1833,  a  high 
class  mechanical  journal  of  its  day,  which  says  in  part: 
*  *  *  "We  now  insert  a  copy  from  a  drawing  made  by 
himself  (Robert  Fulton)  and  which  may  be  considered  as 
descriptive  of  the  first  successful  application  of  steam  in 
navigation.  Since  the  above  was  in  type,  Capt.  Davis 
Hunt,  who  was  the  commander  of  the  boat,  has  seen  the 
engraving  and  pronounces  it  correct  in  every  particular." 
This  Capt.  Hunt  was  at  the  time  of  the  "Clermont's" 


1784  TO  1820. 


35 


first  being  placed  in  service  a  mariner  living  in  New 
York  City,  and  is  the  captain  of  the  vessel  of  which  there 
has  been  some  doubt.  The  other  cut,  without  any  sails 
spread  on  the  vessel  is  from  a  Tourists  Guide  of  1844 
given  to  the  writer  many  years  ago  by  late  Capt,  T.  D. 
Wilcox  of  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  who  was  a  cabin  boy  on  the 
"Paragon,77  one  of  the  Fulton  or  Monopoly  boats  as  early 
as  April  1818,  who  claimed  the  cut  was  "the  best  picture 
of  the  vessel  I  have  seen.77  The  pennant  shown  on  the 
foremast  was  made  in  the  original  with  lead  pencil  by 


THE   "CLERMONT." 

the  captain  in  the  writers  presence,  and  is  the  only 
change  he  made  in  the  cut.  Capt.  Wilcox  was  in  service 
on  Long  Island  Sound  prior  to  1840,  and  later  had  a 
line  of  passenger  steamboats  on  Cayuga  Lake  for  several 
years. 

It  is  readily  seen  that  there  is  a  great  similarity  in 
the  form  of  the  vessels  presented  in  the  two  cuts.  There 
is  the  same  general  form  of  joiner  work  on  the  main 
deck,  though  the  vessel  with  sails  has  more  shear  to  her 
deck,  with  about  the  same  freeboard.  One  feature  that 
is  recognized  in  both  cuts  is  the  balance  wheel  of  the 
engine  being  placed  outboard  but  inside  the  water 


36  1784  TO  1820. 

wheel.  With  such  a  marked  similarity,  and  from 
sources  not  related  in  any  particular  whatever,  separated 
by  several  years,  and  endorsed  by  those  who  were  per- 
sonally familiar  during  the  early  stage  with  the  subject, 
it  can  with  confidence  be  said  the  "Clermont"  was  in  out- 
ward appearance  very  similar  to  these  cuts. 

Henry  Eckford,  who  was  a  Scotchman,  had  served 
three  or  four  years  at  his  trade  under  his  uncle,  who  was 
a  shipbuilder  at  Quebec,  Canada.  He  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1796,  and  after  a  few  years'  employment  in  this 
city  built  one  vessel  in  \Brooklyn  in  1801,*  and  by  1803 
was  in  partnership  with  Edward  Beebe  under  the  firm 
name  of  Eckford  and  Beebe,  and  began  building  vessels 
at  their  .yard  near  the  foot  of  Jefferson  street,  where  they 
built  four  or  five  vessels,  two  of  them  being  ships  for 
John  Astor  of  New  York.  Henry  Eckford,  through  his 
thorough  knowledge  of  his  trade,  and  skill  in  designing 
a  vessel,  built  up  a  reputation  in  a  few  years  as  a  first- 
class  shipbuilder.  He  had  not  been  taught  the  higher 
branches  of  the  trade,  but  taking  advantage  of  his  prac- 
tical experience  he  made  many  changes  in  the  forms  of 
his  vessels  that  proved  of  value.  His  partnership  with 
Edward  Beebe  ended  in  1809.  When  the  war  of  1812-14 
came  on  he  had  a  well-equipped  yard,  but  the  building 
of  merchant  vessels  coming  to  a  close  for  a  time,  the 
Navy  department  obtained  his  services,  and  he  was  sent 
to  the  northern  lakes  to  take  full  charge  of  the  construc- 
tion of  the  naval  vessels  on  these  bodies  of  water,  where 
he  remained  during  the  period  of  hostilities.  He  came 
back  to  New  York,  opened  his  yard  again,  and  built 
several  vessels  for  the  merchant  service  up  to  about  1825, 
among  them  being  the  first  steam  vessel  built  especially 
for  ocean  service,  the  "Kobert  Fulton"  in  1819  for  Dun- 
ham &  Co.,  for  the  trade  between  New  York  and  the 
island  of  Cuba.  He  was  also  employed  in  1819-20  by  the 
Navy  department  as  Naval  Constructor  in  charge  at  the 
Brooklyn  Navy  Yard,  but  official  life  was  not  in  liar- 


1784  TO  1820.  37 

mony  with  his  advanced  business  ideas,  and  he  handed  in 
his  resignation  after  the  completion  of  the  frigate  "Ohio" 
of  2,740  tons.  He  was  no  doubt  the  ruling  spirit  in  the 
shipbuilding  line  in  New  York  City  at  this  time,  and  had 
large  influence  in  naval  construction,  so  much  so  that  in 
1825-26  he  built  in  connection  with  other  builders,  foot 
Stanton  street,  four  44.  gun  frigates  for  navies  of  South 
American  governments.  He  was  largely  interested  in 
many  commercial  corporations  in  the  city,  some  proving 
very  profitable  investments,  but  one  being  the  cause  of 
the  loss  of  most  of  his  wealth  that  was  subsequently 
recovered  through  wise  investments.  He  continued  in 
the  business  world  until  the  Turkish  government  made 
him  an  offer  to  assume  charge  of  their  navy  yard  for  the 
construction  of  their  naval  vessels,  which  he  accepted, 
and  left  New  York  for  Constantinople  in  June  1831,  but 
only  one  vessel  w^as  built  there  under  his  supervision,  as 
he  died  there  in  November,  1832. 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  all  science  entered  into 
the  calculations  for  the  design  of  a  new  vessel  at  this 
period,  for  the  art  of  shipbuilding  still  lingered  with 
them.  The  old  method  of  "cut  and  try"  from  the  build- 
ing of  some  former  vessel  for  a  similar  service  was  most 
generally  made  use  of.  This  was  during  the  chalk 
period.  Instruments  for  the  drawing  of  a  vessel  on  a 
small  scale  were  expensive,  and  conditions  were  not 
favorable  for  their  general  use  in  a  ship  yard,  though 
we  find  by  an  advertisement  in  a  New  York  paper  of 
1745,  Anthony  Lamb,  mathematical  instrument  maker 
of  this  city,  had  for  sale,  besides  quadrants,  compasses, 
gauging  rods;  "drawing  pens,  shipwrights  draught  bows, 
bevels,  squares  and  other  small  work."  Most  of  these 
were  no  doubt  imported  instruments.  It  was  only  after 
several  years  of  advancing  step  by  step  that  scientific 
instruments  began  to  come  into  use  in  this  country  in 
the  designing  of  vessels  to  any  extent,  and  the  con- 
struction of  our  vessels  was  placed  on  a  higher  plane. 


38  1784  TO  1820. 

Forman  Cheeseman  commenced  building  vessels  in  his 
yard  that  was  located  near  the  foot  of  the  present  Rut- 
gers street  prior  to  1800,  and  at  a  later  date  was  asso- 
ciated with  Charles  Brownne  where  they  built  several 
fine  vessels  for  that  day,  a  few  being  the  ships  "Silenus" 
of  400  tons,  the  "Triton"  of  340  tons,  and  the  "Illinois"  of 
396  tons.  Soon  after  this  the  former  retired  from  the 
business  of  the  firm,  and  the  remaining  partner  con- 
tinued the  business  in  his  own  name.  Cheeseman  now 
had  a  yard  for  some  years  near  foot  Eutgers  street.  The 
establishment  of  new  shipbuilding  plants  was  further 
uptown  about  this  time,  but  Crown  Point,  or  Corlears 
Hook,  as  more  generally  known,  was  occupied  with  ship- 
building yards  for  several  years.  It  was  in  this  vicinity 
where  the  first  of  the  large  marine  engine  works,  the  Al- 
laire Works,  was  located  in  the  early  days  of  steam  nav- 
igation, and  continued  in  active  operation  for  more  than 
forty  years  on  the  original  site.  This  Forman  Cheese- 
man was  one  of  the  very  few  naval  architects  and  ship- 
builders in  the  city,  at  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, who  had  a  reputation  of  a  high  order  for  designing 
and  construction,  beyond  their  own  locality.  Philadel- 
phia was  considered  at  this  time  to  be  the  one  city  in  the 
United  States  having  the  best  talent  for  designing  and 
constructing  sea  going  vessels,  as  it  was  the  center  of 
the  most  progress  in  the  arts  and  sciences  in  the  country, 
but  in  a  few  years  New  York  City  made  such  rapid 
strides  in  the  industrial  line  that  the  shipbuilding  indus- 
try of  Philadelphia  was  no  longer  in  the  lead. 

ilWhen  Charles  Brownne  opened  his  yard  on  Man- 
hattan island  this  locality  was  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
city,  but  very  few  dwellings  being  then  beyond  Corlears 
Hook  on  the  east  side  of  the  city.f  This  property  was 
part  of  the  James  Delancey  estate,  that  was  forfeited  to 
the  people  of  New  York  State  by  his  loyalty  to  the 
British  cause  during  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  and  sold 
by  the  Commissioners  of  Forfeitures.  Charles  Brownne 


1781  TO  1820.  39 

was  one  of  the  few  shipbuilders  of  that  date  in  the  city, 
and  was  thought  to  be  one  of  the  most  progressive  in 
that  trade  in  New  York  at  the  time.  This  Manhattan 
island  has  a  local  as  well  as  a  national  historical  interest, 
from  the  fact  that  it  was  on  these  grounds  where  Kobert 
Fulton's  "Clermont,"  the  first  successful  steamboat  in 
the  world,  was  built  in  1807,  and  where  the  first  steam 
war  vessel  in  any  navy,  the  "Fulton  the  First,"  or 
"Demologos,"  was  constructed  in  1814  for  the  United 
States  Navy  by  Adam  and  Noah  Brown.  All  of  Kobert 
Fulton's  steamboats  were  built  by  Charles  Brownne  up 
to  the  time  of  Fulton's  death,  and  after  that  for  a  time 
the  steamboats  of  the  North  Elver  Steamboat  Company 
were  built  by  Adam  and  Noah  Brown  and  Henry  Eck- 
ford.  /Charles  Brownne  in  1810  moved  his  yard  to  a  lot 
92  feet  in  width  on  northeast  corner  Water  and  Mont- 
gomery streets, /the  property  of  Henry  Eutgers,  the  shore 
front  in  this  locality  at  the  time  not  being  filled  out  com- 
pletely beyond  Water  street.  He  remained  here  until 
about  1822,  when  he  became  timber  inspector.  Fortune 
did  not  favor  him  in  his  later  days.  He  died  in  Septem- 
ber, 1831.  The  property  he  had  occupied  on  Manhattan 
island  had  been  purchased  in  November,  1807,  by  Adam 
and  Noah  Brown,  who  occupied  most  of  it  after  his 
removal.  Henry  Eckford  also  occupied  a  small  portion 
of  it.  This  Manhattan  island  was  an  oasis  of  solid 
ground,  several  acres  in  area,  close  by  the  river  shore. 
On  three  sides  of  it  were  salt  meadows  or  marshes,  and 
on  its  eastern  border  flowed  the  waters  of  the  East  river. 
Being  almost  completely  isolated  from  the  shore  of  the 
island  of  Manhattan,  it  had  been  called  an  island,  and 
for  the  sake  of  distinction  had  been  known  from  early 
times  as  Manhattan  island.  With  the  progress  of  the 
city  the  salt  marshes  were  filled  in,  the  shore  line  was 
advanced  into  the  river,  and  Manhattan  island  disap- 
peared from  the  map  of  the  city.  The  accompanying 


40 


178-1  TO  1820. 


map  will  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  location  of  this  historic 
spot  at  an  early  day. 

Adam  and  Noah  Brown  commenced  business  in  1804 
by  taking  a  sub-contract  from  Thomas  Vail,  having  a 
yard  at  the  time  foot  of  Montgomery  street,  to  construct 
a  ship  for  the  European  trade.  They  built  several  ves- 
sels during  the  next  ten  years,  in  the  meantime  locating 


on  Manhattan  Island,  for  the  latter  part  of  this  time  was 
a  comparatively  lively  period  in  shipbuilding  in  New 
York,  some  of  the  vessels  being  as  large  as  450  tons  each. 
During  this  time  there  were  other  builders  who  were 
very  actively  engaged  in  the  construction  of  vessels  for 
our  merchant  marine,  but  none  were  more  so,  or  had  so 
extensive  a  plant  as  A.  &  N.  Brown. 

The  War  of  1812  with  Great  Britain  now  came  on, 
and  the  shipyards  of  the  city  were  almost  destitute  of 
new  orders,  the  unfinished  work  at  the  outbreak  of  hos- 
tilities being  soon  completed.  This  threw  the  mechanics 
for  a  time  on  their  own  resources,  but  as  the  naval  oper- 
ations on  the  northern  lakes  soon  began  to  assume  an 
active  form  many  of  the  ship  carpenters  were  sent  to  the 
lakes  to  construct  the  naval  vessels  for  our  navy  on  those 
bodies  of  water,  the  work  being  under  the  general  super- 
vision of  Henry  Eckford,  with  Noah  Brown  in  charge  on 


1784  TO  1820.  41 

Lake  Erie.  In  1814,  near  the  close  of  the  war,  there  were 
800  ship  carpenters  and  other  employees  of  the  ship- 
yards at  work  on  the  Northern  lakes  on  these  naval 
vessels,  a  large  number  being  from  New  York  and 
vicinity. 

Eobert  Fulton  in  1811  sent  a  ship  carpenter  of 
ability  at  his  trade,  from  New  York  to  take  charge  of 
building  the  hull  of  the  first  steamboat  on  the  Western 
rivers  at  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  the  mechanics  for  performing 
the  work  being  those  in  the  West  who  were  accustomed 
to  building  the  barges  and  flat  boats  for  those  waters. 
After  the  close  of  the  war,  and  before  there  w^as  a  great 
demand  for  labor  in  the  coast  shipyards,  there  was. a  call 
from  the  West  for  experienced  ship  carpenters,  and  fifty  \ 
of  that  trade  were  sent  from  New  York  to  the  Ohio 
river,  some  locating  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  others  at 
Jeffersonville,  Indiana.  These  men  were  the  pioneers 
of  the  skilled  labor  in  the  shipyards  on  the  Western 
rivers.  They  carried  with  them  their  Eastern  practice  of 
large  and  heavy  timber  for  the  structure  of  a  vessel,  but 
experience  soon  convinced  them  that  this  type  of  vessel 
for  the  shallow  waters  of  the  Western-  rivers  was  unsuit- 
able, but  they  soon  adapted  themselves  to  the  changed 
conditions,  and  constructed  vessels  more  fitted  for  the 
service  they  were  to  perform.  There  were  also  ship 
joiners,  as  well  as  machinists,  such  as  they  were  at  that 
day,  that  emigrated  to  the  Western  States  from  New 
York  City  at  this  early  period,  that  became  prosperous  at 
their  trade  in  their  new  situation.  They  w^ent  there  at 
the  first  call  for  skilled  labor  from  the  eastern  shipyards, 
and  their  business  grew  up  with  the  rapid  increase  of 
population  in  the  Western  States. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war  in  1814  there  came  a 
demand  in  the  coast  cities  for  larger  vessels  to  engage 
in  the  foreign  trade,  so  that  by  1816  there  was  built  at    « 
New  York  the  first  of  the  packet  ships  that  were  espe-     j 
cially  designed  for  passengers  and  freight,  for  the  Black 


42  1784  TO   1820. 

Ball  Line  in  the  New  York  and  Liverpool  trade.  As  the 
dimensions  of  these  early  packet  ships  have  never  been 
given,  the  figures  for  a  few  of  the  earlier  vessels  have 
been  taken  from  the  records  of  the  New  York  Custom 
House;  they  were  not  so  long  as  our  three  masted 
schooners  of  to  day. 

"Amity"  1816.  Forman  Cheeseman,  builder. 
382  tons.  1061x286xl43.  Owners,  Isaac 
Wright,  William  Wright,  Benjamin  Marshall 
and  Jeremiah  Thompson. 

"James  Munroe"  1817.  Adam  Brown  builder, 
for  his  own  account.  424  tons.  1181x283xl41. 
Purchased  in  1818  by  Wright  &  Co.,  of  Black 
Ball  Line.  Had  two  decks  and  three  masts. 
"Manhattan"  1819.  Sidney  WTright,  builder. 
390  tons.  1101x283xl41.  Owner,  Samuel 
Hicks. 

"China"  1819.  Adam  and  Noah  Brown,  build- 
ers. 533  tons.  1221x314xl58.  Two  decks  and 
three  masts.  Owner,  Samuel  Hicks. 
"Albion"  1819.  Sidney  Wright,  builder.  434 
tons.  1136x294xl48.  Owners,  Black  Ball 
Line.  Isaac  Wright  &  Co. 

"James  Cropper"  1819.  Sidney  Wright,  builder. 
495  tons.  1201x305xl53.  Owners,  Isaac 
Wright  &  Co. 

Tench  Coxe,  who  was  the  assistant  of  Alexander 
Hamilton,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  under  George 
Washington,  and  a  most  able  advocate  of  American 
manufactures,  wrote  at  this  period  of  American  ship- 
building: "Shipbuilding  is  an  art  for  which  the  United 
States  is  peculiarly  qualified  by  their  skill  in  construc- 
tion and  by  the  materials  with  which  this  country 
abounds:  and  they  are  strongly  tempted  to  pursue  it  by 
their  commercial  spirit,  by  the  capital  fisheries  in  their 
bays  and  on  their  coasts,  and  by  the  production  of  a 
great  and  rapidly  increasing  agriculture.  They  build 


1784  TO   1820.  43 

their  oak  vessels  on  lower  terms  than  the  cheapest  Euro- 
pean vessels  of  fir,  pine  and  larch.  The  cost  of  an  oak 
vessel  in  New  England  is  about  24  Mexican  dollars  per 
ton  fitted  for  sea:  a  fir-built  vessel  in  the  ports  of  the 
Baltic  costs  35  Mexican  dollars:  and  the  American  ship 
will  be  much  the  most  durable.  The  cost  of  a  vessel  of 
the  American  live  oak  and  cedar,  which  will  last  if 
salted  in  her  timbers,  thirty  years,  is  only  36  to  38  dollars 
in  our  different  ports:  and  an  oak  ship  in  the  cheapest 
part  of  England,  Holland  or  France  fitted  in  the  same 
manner  will  cost  55  to  60  dollars.  In  such  a  country,  the 
fisheries  and  commerce  with  due  care  and  attention  on 
the  part  of  the  government  must  be  profitable.  *  *  * 
The  best  double  deck  or  galley-built  ship  with  live  oak 
timbers,  with  white  oak  plank  on  their  bottoms,  and 
either  that  timber  or  yellow  pine  for  their  top  sides,  can 
be  built  and  fitted  for  taking  in  cargo  at  34  dollars  per 
ton:  and  as  good  a  vessel  cannot  be  procured  in  Great 
Britain,  France  or  Holland  under  55  or  60  dollars.  As 
the  building  of  coasting  and  fishing  vessels,  boats  in  new 
forms  for  our  improved  inland  navigation,  vessels  on 
various  construction  for  public  service,  and  for  a  very 
diversified  foreign  trade,  will  not  only  keep  the  art  of 
shipbuilding  at  its  present  height,  but  will  advance  it  in 
all  respects.  It  appears  to  be  very  doubtful  whether  we 
should  anxiously  desire  to  supply  foreigners  with  such 
cheap  means  of  rivalling  vis  in  the  carrying  trade  and 
fisheries.  Our  ship  and  boat  yards  are  not  confined  to 
one  spot,  but  are  more  diffused  than  formerly.  There  is 
no  State  in  w^hich  the  citizens  do  not  pursue  the  business, 
and  it  is  commenced  upon  the  Western  waters.  Before 
the  Revolution  about  one  half  our  vessels  were  paid  for 
by  a  barter  of  credit  goods  for  the  labor  and  skill  of  the 
artificers,  instead  of  which  he  now  generally  receives 
weekly  payments  in  solid  coin." 

With   the   demand   for   increased   tonnage   in   1816 
came  the  call  for  more  ship  carpenters,  but  the  supply 


44  1784  TO  1820. 

was  not  equal  to  the  demand  of  the  times,  for  the  ship- 
builders of  other  coast  cities  had  the  same  call  for  new 
vessels.  This  condition  had  been  anticipated  prior  to  the 
War  of  1812-14  by  a  few  New  York  builders  in  a  small 
way,  in  taking  a  larger  number  of  apprentices  under  in- 
structions of  "the  art  and  mystery  of  shipbuilding/7  but 
it  was  not  carried  to  an  extent  to  be  of  much  service  to 
the  builders  until  it  was  put  in  operation  more  generally 
after  the  war.  Some  of  these  apprentices  became  the 
best  mechanics  in  the  yards,  and  subsequently  several  of 
them  operated  ship  yards  of  their  own,  in  some  cases 
being  aided  financially  by  friends  interested  in  marine 
affairs,  and  employed  at  times  several  gangs  of  ship  car- 
penters and  other  mechanics  on  the  vessels  under  con- 
struction. These  apprentices  were  mainly  those  who 
came  into  the  business  on  the  flood  tide  of  the  industry, 
and  when  it  was  nearing  its  height  were  in  a  position  to 
take  advantage  of  the  industrial  boom.  By  1822  this 
scarcity  of  labor  had  been  largely  overcome  through  the 
apprenticeship  system,  and  partly  through  the  influx  of 
foreign  skilled  labor  from  Europe  and  Canada.  But  a 
change  came  later  on. 

With  the  large  demand  for  new  vessels  at  this 
period  more  yards  were  opened.  Christian  Bergh,  Jr., 
who  had  been  on  the  northern  lakes  during  the  War  of 
1812-14  soon  began  active  operations  at  his  larger  yard, 
and  in  1825  the  register  of  vessels  built  at  that  yard  show 
that  Christian  Bergh,  Kobert  Caruly  and  Jacob  A. 
Westervelt  were  the  master  builders,  which  would  imply 
the  two  latter  having  an  interest  in  the  business.  They 
built  but  few  steam  vessels  and  these  of  small  size. 
Christian  Bergh  retired  from  business  in  1837,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  sons  Henry  and  Edwin  Bergh,  who  con- 
tinued the  business  until  just  after  their  father's  death  in 
1843,  when  the  yard  was  closed  for  shipbuilding  pur- 
poses. Isaac  Webb,  the  father  of  William  H.  Webb,  also 
began  business  on  his  own  account  near  Corlears  Hook 


1784  TO  1820.  45 

about  1818.  He  had  been  instructed  in  his  trade  under 
Henry  Eckford. 

The  apprenticeship  system  now  began  to  bear  fruit 
from  the  original  introduction  of  the  system  by  the 
builders  at  that  period.  It  was  a  little  later  when  steam 
vessels  were  constructed  for  other  service  than  river 
navigation,  as  in  the  case  of  the  "Savannah,"  built 
originally  as  a  sailing  vessel  but  altered  to  a  steam 
vessel,  and  the  "Kobert  Fulton,"  that  ran  from  New  York 
to  Cuba,  that  by  1824,  when  the  free  navigation  of  the 
waters  of  the  United  States  with  steam  vessels  was  de- 
cided by  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  there  were 
sufficient  number  of  ship  yards  in  the  city,  that  were 
fully  equipped  for  all  the  demands  for  the  vessels  re- 
quired, and  having  better  methods  of  construction  than 
were  adopted  when  the  "Clerinont"  was  built.  New 
blood  had  come  into  the  business  and  brought  with  them 
new  ideas,  or  developed  them  after  their  term  of  instruc- 
tion had  expired,  that  were  improvements  on  those 
methods  of  construction  they  had  been  taught  during 
their  term  of  apprenticeship.  While  these  changes  were 
not  radical  in  the  main,  still  they  were  a  step  forward. 
Like  all  other  innovations,  they  were  often  looked  upon 
at  first  by  those  of  larger  experience  with  grave  doubts 
as  to  their  merit,  but  their  worth  in  many  cases  was  soon 
recognized  at  their  true  value. 

As  showing  the  activity  of  the  business  in  New 
York  in  1824  may  be  quoted  a  report  of  an  inspection 
made  of  the  work  then  in  hand  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  year.  "In  passing  up  the  river  a  few  days  since  I 
had  the  pleasure  to  count  the  number  of  vessels  on  the 
stocks  at  Corlears  Hook  and  Manhattan  Island,  and 
ascertained  it  to  be  twenty,  besides  several  fine  ships 
which  were  launched  last  week.  Among  the  vessels  on 
the  stocks  are  seven  ships  and  four  steamboats." 

REGISTERED    SHIPS    BUILT  AT  NEW  YORK. 

The  following  list  is  part  of  the  registered  vessels 


40  1784  TO  1820. 

built  at  this  port  by  the  most  prominent  builders  of  the 
periods,  for  40  years  subsequent  to  the  close  of  the 
Revolutionary  War.  It  is  only  laid  before  the  reader  to 
show  the  size  of  our  vessels  engaged  in  the  foreign  trade 
a  century  ago,  with  the  builders'  names. 

"New  York"  built  in  1788  of  243  tons.  "Cheeseman" 
in  17-91  of  274  tons.  "Hare"  in  1792  of  280  tons.  "On- 
tario" in  1796  of  500  tons.  "Canton"  in  1799  of  518  tons. 
"Camilla"  in  1799^  of  397  tons.  No  record  can  be  found 
who  built  these  vessels. 

Samuel  Ackerly. 

"Manhattan"  in  1800  of  666  tons  or  1301x343xl74. 
"Fanny"  in  1792  of  238  tons.  "Samson"  1792  of  304  tons. 

Eckford  &  Beebe. 

"Magadalene"  in  1805  of  355  tons.  "Gold  Hunter" 
in  1806  of  296  tons.  "Beaver"  1805  of  427  tons.  "Con- 
cordia"  1807  of  280  tons.  "Mexican"  1808  of  291  tons. 
"Eliza  Grade"  in  1809  of  420  tons. 

Henry  Eckford. 

"Sam  Elam"  in  1800  of  324  tons.  "Hennless"  in  1809 
of  554  tons.  "Hannibal"  in  1810  of  522  tons.  "Hector" 
in  1818  of  380  tons.  "Regulus"  in  1818  of  877  tons. 
"Isabella"  in  1820  of  468  tons.  "Henry  Astor"  in  1820  of 
377  tons.  "Hercules"  in  1822  of  497  tons.  "Crawford" 
in  1824  of  289  tons.  "Fabius"  in  1822  of  432  tons,  "Com. 
Chauncey"  in  1822  of  387  tons.  "Robert  Fulton,"  steam- 
ship, 1819  of  702  tons. 

Christian  Bergh,  Jr. 

"Galloway"  in  1807  of  344  tons.  "Canton"  in  1809 
of  408  tons.  "Gypsy"  in  1809  of  207  tons.  "Don 
Quixotte"  in  1823  of  260  tons.  "Ed  Quesnel"  in  1824  of 
388  tons.  "Paris"  in  1824  of  338  tons.  "El  Bonaffee"  in 
1824  of  325  tons. 

Adam  &  Noah  Brown,  and  Noah  Brown. 

"Frances"  in  1804  of  292  tons.  "Swift"  in  1805  of 
289  tons.  "Trident^in  1805  of  460  tons.  "Boneta"  in 
1806  of  263  tons.  "Maria  Theresa"  in  1807  of  330  tons. 


1784  TO  1820.  47 

"Pacific"  in  1807  of  384  tons.  "Tonquin"  in  1807  of  269 
tons.  "Phorion"  in  1807  of  265  tons.  "Mentor"  in  1808 
of  257  tons.  "America"  in  1809  of  493  tons.  "Chinese" 
in  1809  of  301  tons.  "Highlander"  in  1810  of  275  tons. 
"Aricola"  in  1810  of  283  tons.  "Colt"  in  1810  of  228  tons. 
"Ontario"  in  1812  of  527  tons.  "James  Munroe"  in  1817 
of  424  tons.  "Horatio"  in  1818  of  865  tons.  "China"  in 
1818  of  533  tons.  "Ajax"  in  1821  of  370  tons.  "Mon- 
tano"  in  1822  of  365  tons.  "American"  in  1822  of  339 
tons.  "Lewis"  in  1823  of  412  tons.  "Sabina"  in  1823  of 
412  tons.  "Natchez,"  steam  schooner,  in  1823  of  206  tons. 
"Diamond"  in  1823  of  491  tons.  "William  Byrnes"  in 
1824  of  517  tons.  "Nassau"  in  1824  of  407  tons.  "Man- 
chester" in  1825  of  561  tons. 

Sidney  Wright. 

"Marcus"  in  1818  of  283  tons.  "Manhattan"  in  1818 
of  390  tons.  "Albion"  in  1819  of  434  tons.  "James 
Cropper"  in  1819  of  495  tons.  "Kounlus"  in  1820  of  232 
tons.  "William  Thompson"  in  1821  of  495  tons,  or 
1201x303xl56.  "Liverpool"  in  1822  of  496  tons.  "Colum- 
bia" in  1822  of  492  tons. 

Fickett  &  Crockett,  and  Samuel  Fickett. 

"Savannah,"  pioneer  steamship  of  319  tons,  or 
986x2510xl42.  "Panther"  in  1821  of  370  tons.  "Maria"  in 
1821  of  418  tons.  "HannibaFMn  1822  of  440  tons.  "Lon- 
don" in  1822  of  407  tons.  "Hudson,"  1822,  of  368  tons. 
"Leeds"  in  1823  of  408  tons.  "Herald,"  1823,  of  395  tons. 
"Shenandoah,"  1823,  of  475  tons.  "York"  in  1825  of  433 
tons. 

Brown  &  Bell. 

"William  Tell"  in  1821  of  367  tons.  "Orbit"  1821  of 
384  tons.  "New  York"  in~T822  of  516  tons.  "Baltic,"  1822, 
of  409  tons.  "Henry"  in  1823  of  287  tons.  "Canada,"  1823, 
of  545  tons.  "Pacific"  in  1824  of  586  tons.  "Washing- 
ton" in  1825  of  741  tons. 

Blossom,  Smith  &  Demon. 

"Phocion"  in  1822  of  522  tons.    "Circassian,"  1822,  of 


48  1784  TO  1820. 

298  tons.  "Harvard,"  1822,  of  336  tons.  "Fanny"  in  1823 
of  390  tons.  "Corinthian,"  1823,  of  401  tons.  "Mary  Lord," 
1823,  of  476  tons.  "Balize,"  1823,  of  192  tons,  steam 
schooner.  "William  Brown"  in  1824  of  559  tons. 

Thorne  &  Williams. 

"Carolina"  in  1822  of  80  tons,  steamboat.  "Europa" 
in  1823  of  369  tons.  "Gen.  Putnam"  in  1824  of  418  tons. 

Isaac  Webb  &  Co. 

"Superior"  in  1822  of  575  tons.  "Splendid"  in  1823 
of  642  tons.  "Silas  Eichards,"  1823,  of  454  tons.  "Oliver 
Ellsworth"  in  1824,  New  York  and  Hartford  steamboat, 
227  tons. 

Charles  Brownne. 

Besides  the  steamboats  for  Eobert  Fulton,  ships 
"Star"  in  1^12. of  409  tons.  "Cincinnatus"  in  1818  of  373 
tons.  "London  Packet"  in  1819  of  320  tons. 

It  has  been  generally  thought  the  "Superior"  and 
the  "Splendid,"  built  by  Isaac  Webb  &  Co.  in  1822  and 
1823  respectively,  were  the  largest  ships  built  in  this 
country  at  that  period,  but  that  is  an  error,  for  we  find 
there  were  built  in  this  city  prior  to  either  of  these 
vessels,  three  ships  either  one  much  larger  than  the 
"Superior"  or  the  "Splendid."  They  were  the  "Curiazo," 
built  in  1817  by  Forman  Cheeseman  for  Paul  Delano  of 
New  YorTrrf  851  tons,  or  1391x371xl87,  having  two  decks 
and  three  masts;  the  "Horatio,"  built  in  1818  by  Adam  & 
Noah  Brown  for  own  account,  of  865  tons,  or  1381x379> 
x!810,  and  sold  for  East  India  trade;  and  the  "Regulus," 
built  also  in  1818,  of  877  tons,  or  1471x366xl83,  by  Henry 
Eckford  for  own  account,  and  sold  to  Peter  Harmony 
and  others,  writh  an  interest  by  the  builder.  This  vessel 
was  built  wholly  of  live  oak  and  pierced  for  28  guns. 
These  were  the  largest  sailing  vessels  built  here  for 
several  years. 

That  some  of  the  New  York  shipbuilders  were 
fortunate  in  accumulating  a  share  of  this  world's  goods 
we  find  from  a  survey  of  the  assessment  for  personal 


1784  TO  1820.  49 

taxes  in  this  city.  Adam  and  Noah  Brown,  each  in  1815 
for  |15,000,  Charles  Brownne  for  |7,000  in  1815,  and 
Henry  Eckford  for  |30,000  in  1815,  and  |50,000  in  1820. 
These  builders  were  at  the  same  time  interested  in  the 
development  of  real  estate  on  the  east  side  of  the  city 
that  was  now  building  up  very  rapidly.  Noah  Brown 
and  Henry  Eckford  appear  to  have  been  impressed  with 
the  value  of  unimproved  real  estate  in  the  "Out  Ward," 
for  there  is  the  record  of  many  purchases  and  sales  by 
them  at  a  very  early  period. 


CHAPTER  III. 


1820  to  1840. 

PERIOD    OF    LARGE    DEVELOPMENT    IX    SHIPBUILDING— MARINE 
RAILWAY  AND  DRY   DO  Civ  S— TOOLS'. 


Y  1820  the  country  had  recovered  in  great  part 
from  the  industrial  depression  of  the  late 
war,  and  the  wise  legislation  that  had  been 
enacted  for  the  protection  of  American  indus- 
tries had  been  a  means  of  bringing  capital 
to  investment  in  the  further  development  of  steam 
navigation  on  our  rivers,  f  By  1824  the  new  shipyards 
that  were  opened  had  all  been  located  above  Corlears 
Hook,  and  in  fact  there  were  a  few  at  and  about  Man- 
hattan Island,  for  the  city  was  now  building  up  very 
rapidly  on  the  East  Kiver  side,  taken  up  mainly  by  the 
mechanical  classes.'  At  this  time  the  new  firm  of  Brown 
&  Bell,  who  were  among  the  best  for  many  years  in 
constructing  sailing  and  steam  vessels,  were  located 
where  Adam  and  Noah  Brown  had  been,  Smith  & 
Demon  were  at  Fourth  street,  Isaac  Webb  &  Co.  at  Stan- 
ton  street,  and  Lawrence  &  Sneeden,  whose  specialty 
was  river  steamboats,  and  who  had  a  high  reputation  as 
builders,  were  at  Corlears  Hook.* 

The  number  of  vessels  in  1824  in  service  had  in- 
creased so  largely,  for  the  foreign  as  well  as  the  coast- 
wise and  internal  navigation  and  their  size  so  much 
greater  than  a  few  years  before,  that  some  better  means 
of  preparing  a  vessel  for  inspection  or  repairs  of  the  hull 
below  the  water  line  had  to  be  made  than  the  usual 
"heaving  down"  process  then  in  use.  There  was  at  this 

*The  marsh  surrounding  Manhattan  island  extended  along  the  shore 
to  about  10th  street,  and  inland  in  irregular  lines  to  about  Avenue  B, 
with  three  large  water  courses  running  through  it  to  the  river.  It  was 
filled  in  during  this  period. 


1820  TO  1840.  51 

time  no  dry  dock  nor  marine  railway  for  taking  out  a 
vessel  from  the  water  for  repairs  in  this  country,  either 
for  the  merchant  service  or  the  naval  fleet.  There  was 
at  the  time  only  one  resort,  and  that  was  with  our  naval 
vessels  and  large  merchant  vessels,  in  sending  them  to 
European  dry  docks  when  coppering  of  the  bottom  or 
serious  repairs  were  made  necessary.  It  was  at  this  time 
that  the  first  marine  railway  was  put  in  operation  in  this 
country,  but  whether  in  New  York  City  or  Salem,  Mass., 
is  a  question,  more  than  probable  by  a  few  months  in  the 
former  city.  Eobert  Fulton  is  said  to  have  had  a  railway 
for  the  purpose  of  repairing  his  vessel,  but  of  its  design 
there  is  no  record.  The  New  York  Dry  Dock  Company 
was  chartered  by  the  New  York  Legislature  in  1825  with 
banking  privileges,  and  a  capital  of  f  700,000,  to  construct 
a  dry  dock  at  New  York,  but  instead  they  built  a  marine 
railway  for  taking  vessels  out  of  the  water  for  repairs. 
This  company  was  brought  into  existence  by  the  co-oper- 
ation of  the  owners  of  the  large  sailing  vessels,  some  of 
the  owners  of  the  Black  Ball  line  of  packets,  to  avoid  the 
disadvantages  to  themselves  of  "heaving  down"  their 
vessels  when  requiring  repairs.  This  marine  railway 
was  located  at  the  foot  of  East  10th  street,  was  300  feet 
in  total  length,  and  was  operated  at  first  by  horse  power, 
but  a  few  years  later  steam  power  was  substituted.  The 
first  trial  with  this  railway  was  made  in  March,  1826,  in 
taking  out  a  brig-rigged  vessel  that  was  successfully  done, 
and  shortly  after  several  other  vessels  were  taken  out  for 
repairs.  The  first  use  of  the  diving  bell  in  this  country  is 
believed  to  have  been  made  for  cutting  off  the  wooden 
piles  for  the  outer  end  of  these  ways.  This  railway  was 
built  under  a  patent  granted  to  John  Thomas,  a  naval 
constructor. 

This  dry  dock  company  was  the  first  to  build  a  tow- 
boat  for  that  special  duty.  The  towing  of  sail  vessels  in 
New  York  harbor  and  bay  had  been  performed  prior  to 
1825  by  small  passenger  steamboats  during  the  dull  sea- 


52  1820  TO  1840. 

sons,  or  when  put  out  of  business  by  new  and  more  suit 
able  vessels  for  some  established  route.     On  account  o 
this  marine  railway  being  so  far  uptown  at  that  date,  it 
was  necessary  for  the  patronage  of  the  several  lines  o 
packet  ships  and  other  vessels  that  were  berthed  in  tin 
lower  part  of  the  city,  to  have  some  means  of  bringing 
them  to  the  railway  for  inspection  and  repairs,  so  tin 
company    had    a   small    steam    towboat    constructed    In 
Smith  ,K:   Demon  in  1828  and  named  "IJufns  \V.   King.' 
She  was  1021xl91xT1  and  fitted  with  one  of  .lames  I'.  Al 
laire's  crosshead  engines  of  34  inches  cylinder  by  4  feet 
stroke.     She  was  a  queer-looking  craft,  having  a  s<pian 
stern  like  a  sloop    and  a  bow  as  round  as  a  full  moon. 
She  had  very  little  freeboard,  setting  very  low  in  tin- 
water.    They  burned  wood  in  the  furnace  of  the  boiler  to 
raise  steam  for  propulsion,  and  under  ordinary  condi- 
tions her  power  was  so  small  she  could  with  difficulty  tow 
a  large  vessel.     At  a  later  date  she  was  disposed   of 
and  did  general  towing,  and  about  1847  the  hull  was 
lengthened,  made  deeper,  and  a  larger  engine  put  in  the 
vessel  and  named  "Buffalo:"  she  was  then  placed  in  the 
passenger  service  on  the  Hudson  river  as  an  opposition 
boat  and  was  always  in  evidence  when  there  was  a  steam- 
boat war  of  rates. 

Commander  John  Rodgers,  U.  S.  N.,  President  Board 
of  Naval  Commissioners,  proposed  in  1821  an  inclined 
plane  and  dry  dock  "for  building,  preserving  and  repair- 
ing ships  of  war,"  and  in  fact  constructed  an  experi- 
mental set  of  ways  at  the  Washington  Navy  Yard  upon 
which  the  44-gun  frigate  "Potomac"  of  1,700  tons,  was 
hauled  out  of  the  water  in  1822,  and  he  says  the  experi- 
ment "fully  confirmed  his  anticipations,  and  the  ship 
was  hauled  up  with  comparative  ease  and  perfect  safety/ 
Com.  Eodgers  proposed  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  that 
the  subject  of  the  adoption  of  the  inclined  plane  with  a 
house  for  the  protection  of  the  vessel  from  the  weather, 
and  the  dry  dock  so-called,  for  the  use  of  the  navy  depart- 


1820  TO  1840.  53 

merit,  be  submitted  to  the  President,  which  was  done  in 
January  1S23,  but  it  seems  to  have  been  lost  sight  of  in 
the  political  game  by  Congress.  Its  advantages  over  the 
heaving  down  process  were  thus  mentioned:  "In  the 
United  States  we  have  no  docks:  nor  have*  we  any  way 
for  preparing  our  ships  for  repair,  but  by  heaving  them 
down,  a  process  tedious,  very  expensive,  and  highly  dan- 
gerous, particularly  to  large  ships,  which  are  always  in  a 
greater  or  lesser  degree  injured  by  it.  Nor  is  it  possible 
to  place  a  vessel  hove  down,  in  such  a  situation  as  to 
enable  the  mechanics  employed  in  her  repair,  to  work 
on  her  to  the  best  advantage:  much  time  will  unavoid- 
ably be  lost.  The  advantages  and  economy  of  docks, 
upon  the  principle  of  this  invention  in  repairing  ships 
when  compared  with  the  ordinary  mode  in  the  United 
States  of  heaving  down  are  innumerable.  The  vessel 
can  be  taken  into  dock  writh  perfect  ease  and  safety,  and 
there  placed  in  the  position  most  favorable  for  her 
thorough  examination  and  repair  from  her  keel  up. 
K very  facility  to  a  minute  examination  and  repair  and 
every  advantage  to  the  mechanics  in  performing  their 
work  is  afforded.  Putting  aside  the  risks  and  the  loss  of 
time  in  heaving  down  it  may  be  safely  stated  that  the 
labor  of  repairing  in  a  dock  of  this  description  wrould  be 
at  least  one-third  less  than  the  labor  of  repairing  a  vessel 
hove  down.'1 

This  appears  to  be  the  last  for  many  years  of  the 
inclined  marine  railway  for  government  work,  as  the  dry 
dock  had  the  call  at  the  time  and  the  speculative  contrac- 
tor was  getting  in  his  fine  work  with  Congress  for  a  large 
contract,  though  it  was  several  years  before  one  was 
built. 

That  the  marine  railway  and  floating  dry  docks  of 
the  period  wrere  not  all  that  were  required,  is  seen  from 
the  fact  that  the  New  York  Marine  Dry  Dock  Company 
was  incorporated  by  the  New  York  Legislature  in  1834, 
having  as  incorporators  David  Brown  and  Jacob  Bell, 


54  1820  TO  1840. 

shipbuilders;  Captain  Cobb,  shipmaster;  O.  Mauran,  ship- 
owner, and  E.  K.  Collins,  shipping  merchant  and  agent 
of  a  packet  line,  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  dry  dock. 
Capital  stock  of  the  company  was  $250,000.  It  was  pro- 
posed to  be  built  of  wood  and  located  in  a  convenient 
place  in  the  city  between  two  piers  for  protection  from 
injury,  and  to  be  sunk  to  a  sufficient  depth  so  that  the 
top  was  two  feet  above  the  highest  spring  tides,  and 
freed  from  water  by  a  steam  engine  placed  on  one  of  the 
piers.  The  project  does  not  appear  to  have  been  taken  up 
by  the  capitalist,  as  there  has  been  no  record  left  of  any- 
thing further  being  done  by  the  company,  except  inviting 
subscription  for  stock  of  the  company. 

The  increasing  number  of  immigrants  arriving  at  this 
port  from  Europe  and  the  large  increase  in  our  Southern 
coastwise  commerce  made  it  necessary  for  the  packet 
companies  to  increase  the  number  and  size  of  their  ves- 
sels still  further,  and  this  brought  an  increase  of  business 
to  the  local  shipyards.  '  There  were  built  at  these  ship- 


during  1826  twenty-three  ships,  three  brigs, 
forty-nine  schooners,  sixty-eight  sloops,  twelve  steam- 
boats, fifteen  towboats  and  nineteen  canal  boats,  mak- 
ing a  total  of  29,137  tons. 

li  was  just  about  the  time  the  United  States  Su- 
preme Court  gave  its  decision  regarding  the  monopoly 
with  steam  vessels  on  the  waters  of  the  United  States, 
and  that  our  capitalists  were  taking  measures  to  invest 
in  steamboat  enterprises,  that  a  large  fire  in  a  New  York 
shipyard  took  place,  that  was  known  for  many  years  as 
the  "Shipyard  Fire."  There  was  another  fire  in  a  city 
shipyard  about  twenty  years  later  that  was  a  very  great 
loss,  but  this  one  was  even  greater.  It  occurred  on 
March  14,  1824,  about  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  being 
discovered  in  the  steam  sawmill  of  Noah  Brown  on  Man- 
hattan Island,  and  spread  with  such  rapidity  that  the 
mill  and  large  ship  house  of  Brown  &  Bell,  just  adjoin- 

were    destroyed    before    any    assistance    could    be 


1820  TO  1840.  55 

rendered.  In  the  ship  house  were  two  steamboats;  one 
the  "Hudson,"  being  built  for  K.  M.  Livingston,  nearly 
completed  and  ready  to  launch,  and  in  the  yard  two  brigs 
almost  finished,  besides  a  large  quantity  of  ship  timber, 
all  of  which  shared  the  same  fate.  The  flames  also  ex- 
tended to  the  adjoining  yard  of  Isaac  Webb  &  Co.,  where 
a  frame  building  belonging  to  Henry  Eckford  and  occu- 
pied as  a  saw  pit,  and  considerable  quantity  of  ship  tim- 
ber was  consumed.  An  effort  was  made  to  launch  the 
steamboat,  but  the  flames  spread  so  rapidly  that  the 
workmen  were  driven  from  the  ways  and  they  had  to 
abandon  the  attempt  to  save  the  vessel.  Fire  Engine  No. 
33,  "Black  Joke,"  that  had  been  located  at  the  lower  end 
of  the  dock,  as  a  point  of  great  advantage  to  fight  the 
flames,  was  cut  off  from  the  shore  end  of  the  yard  by  the 
sudden  spread  of  the  fire,  and  before  the  firemen  could 
take  any  measures  to  remove  their  engine  from  its  peril, 
it  took  fire  and  was  entirely  consumed.  Several  of  the 
firemen  were  caught  between  the  fire  engine  and  the  end 
of  the  dock,  and  their  choice  lay  between  the  fire  on  one 
side  and  the  river  on  the  other;  four  of  them  jumped 
overboard,  but  were  at  once  rescued  by  boats  from  the 
shore.*  This  fire  was  the  cause  of  the  formation  of  a 
noted  fire  engine  company  of  New  York  City  in  the  early 
days,  Live  Oak  No.  44,  organized  August  2,  1824,  by 
several  of  the  shipbuilders  around  Manhattan  Island, 
and  was  located  in  a  house  in  the  square  at  Houston  near 
Columbia  street  in  later  years.  Fire  companies  in  these 
early  days  were  not  models  of  thorough  organization. 
Being  volunteer  companies,  there  was  a  great  deal  of 
freedom  given  the  members  in  the  active  operations  of 
the  company,  and  this  brought  out  a  feeling  of  rivalry 
between  the  several  companies  that  very  often  when  in 
fire  service  they  came  in  collision,  and  a  free  fight  was  the 
result  between  the  members  of  the  different  companies. 

*Loss    estimated,  at.  forty   thousand    dollars,    Brown    &    Bell    losing 
about  one-half  that  amount. 


56  1820  TO  1840. 

Live  Oak  was  able  to  "hold  up  their  end  of  the  plank"  on 
such  occasions. 

The  earliest  claim  to  a  ship  model  of  a  vessel  is  that 
made  by  Orlando  B.  Merrill  of  Newburyport,  Mass.,  for 
one  he  made  in  1796.  The  designer  and  maker  of  this 
model  was  engaged  in  shipbuilding  from  1791  with  his 
two  brothers  for  several  years,  and  was  one  of  the  most 
prosperous  builders  of  that  section  at  the  time.  He 
was  one  of  the  two  contractors  who  built  the  U.  S.  sloop 
of  war  "Wasp,"  of  509  tons,  in  1813  at  Newburyport. 
This  model  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  New  York  His- 
torical Society,  having  been  presented  to  the  society  by 
David  Ogden,  the  New  York  agent  of  the  St.  George's 
line  of  New  York  and  Liverpool  packets,  and  one  of  the 
original  owners  of  the  clipper  ship  "Dreadnought."  On 
the  backboard  to  which  the  model  is  fastened  is  the  in- 
scription: "Original  ship  model  made  by  Orlando  B. 
Merrill  of  Belleville,  Newburyport,  Mass.,  1796,  and  by 
the  inventor,  now  90  years  of  age,  given  to  David  Ogden 
in  February,  1853,  who  presented  it  to  the  New  York  His- 
torical Society  in  1853."  This  model  is  made  in  four 
pieces  of  a  fine  wood,  and  the  form  is  far  ahead  of  any- 
thing of  its  kind  that  we  have  left  to  us  from  that  period. 
It  is  in  a  good  state  of  preservation,  and  shows  the  sur- 
face of  the  wood  is  in  its  original  condition.  This  model 
is  19f  in.  extreme  length,  2J  in.  in  half  breadth,  and  2J 
in.  deep  center  of  length.  Of  the  shipbuilders  in  New 
York  and  vicinity  there  was  a  claim  made  for  a  model 
made  by  Christian  Bergh,  assisted  by  William  Vincent, 
both  shipbuilders  in  early  part  of  the  19th  century. 
Stephen  Smith  of  Smith  &  Demon  also  claimed  the  credit 
for  the  early  ship  model.  There  is  a  model  in  Webb's 
Academy  and  Home  for  Shipbuilders  showing  the  marks 
of  having  passed  through  fire.  It  is  44  inches  long,  10 
inches  wide  and  6  inches  deep  at  midlength,  and  built  up 
of  six  layers  of  hard  wood.  The  form  shows  it  to  have 
been  an  old  time  model.  The  descriptive  card  on  the 


1820  TO  1840.  57 

model  says:  "Relic  of  model  rescued  from  the  ruins  of  the 
office  of  William  H.  Webb  burned  in  the  year  1848.  This 
model  was  made  by  Isaac  Webb,  father  of  William  H. 
Webb,  about  the  year  1816  in  the  City  of  New  York  or  its 
vicinity.  It  was  the  first  model  made  in  ships  showing 
water  lines,  and  rendering  it  much  more  easy  to  form  the 
model  and  measure  its  shape  than  by  the  method  used 
in  all  countries  heretofore.  The  use  of  this  method  of 
modeling  saved  very  much  time,  produced  more  beautiful 
vessels  than  formerly,  and  revolutionized  the  business  of 
building  sea  going  vessels  in  all  maritime  countries." 

/In  1830  there  were  fourteen  shipyards  that  extended 
from  just  below  Corlears  Hook  to  Fourth  street.  There 
were  also  244  journeymen  ship  carpenters,  besides  ap- 
prentices not  yet  out  of  their  term  of  service,  the  caulkers, 
of  whom  there  were  not  many  so  named,  and  the  ship 
joiners,  in  all  about  400  men.  There  were  also  some  sub- 
contractors having  small  shops  or  yards  for  repair  work. 
There  were  also  the  sawyers  and  shipsmiths./*  It  was  at 
this  period  that  some  of  the  members  of  the  old  firms 
retired  altogether  from  the  business,  or  an  active  par- 
ticipation in  the  industry,  and  were  succeeded  by  some 
of  the  younger  men  wTho  w^ere  interested.  It  was  then 
that  so  many  experiments  were  made  in  the  form  of 
vessels,  as  well  as  in  the  motive  power.  The  old  spoon- 
shaped  bow  on  the  steam  vessels  was  giving  way  to  an 
easier  entrance  line,  and  a  finer  run  aft,  and  many  a 
steamboat  was  built  at  this  period  that  was  in  service  not 
more  than  one  season  than  she  would  be  taken  out  on  the 
ways  for  alterations  in  her  form  suggested  by  the  sea- 
son's work.  >From  1830  to  1840  there  was  probably  more 
experiments  and  alterations  made  on  steam  vessels  in 
New  York  waters  than  in  any  other  decade  in  the  build- 
ing of  our  merchant  marine,  f  They  gained  much  knowl- 
edge at  that  time  that  was  of  service  in  later  years. 
1  Robert  L.  Stevens,  of  Hoboken,  N.  Jf,  did  probably  more 
toward  improving  the  form  of  steam  vessels  at  the  time, 


58  1820  TO  1840. 

through  his  experiments,  than  any  other  builder  or 
owner  of  steam  vessels.  He  had  false  bows  built  on  some 
of  his  river  steamboats  as  experiments,  of  varying 
lengths  from  the  stem  proper,  securely  fastened  to  the 
hull  of  the  vessel,  and  built  up  for  two  or  three  feet 
above  the  water  line.  This  was  a  steamboat  era;  but  the 
changes  had  a  marked  influence  upon  the  form  of  our 
sailing  vessels.  It  was  during  this  time  that  the  first 
coastwise  steam  line  was  established  between  New  York 
and  Charleston,  S.  C.,  with  a  class  of  vessels  not  fitted  for 
outside  service.  They  were  all  built  at  New  York,  and 
named  "David  Brown,'7  "Home,"  "William  Gibbons," 
"Columbia,"  "New  York"  and  "Neptune."  When  this 
steamboat  era  first  opened  about  1825  there  were  many 
who  became  interested  in  the  business  of  steam  naviga- 
tion who  had  a  limited  amount  of  capital  at  their  com- 
mand, and  had  invested  in  vessels  that  were  ill  adapted 
for  the  business  in  which  they  were  placed,  and  as  compe- 
tition in  a  few  years  became  more  active,  such  vessels 
were  a  losing  speculation  and  their  owners  were  in  many 
cases  forced  to  the  wall,  financially.  By  1830  a  weeding- 
out  process  took  place,  and  the  financially  strong  owners 
were  found  in  possession  of  the  higher  class  of  vessels 
and  the  better  paying  business.  Then  began,  again,  the 
formation  of  stock  companies,  not  the  first,  for  Fulton 
&  Livingston  Company  was  known  as  the  North  Eiver 
Steamboat  Company,  and  with  this  the  laying  aside  of 
the  old  type  of  steamboats,  and  experiments  to  improve 
the  hull  and  motive  power  of  every  new  vessel.  They 
were  now  progressing  toward  another  period  of  a  greater 
and  more  radical  departure  in  shipbuilding  in  this  city 
and  country.  We  see  more  of  it  in  the  shipyards  of  New 
York,  for  the  Hudson  River  and  Long  Island  Sound  were 
the  greater  channels  of  travel  prior  to  1850  than  any 
other  waters  in  the  United  States,  and  as  most  all  the 
vessels  in  service  on  the  routes  from  New  York  were  built 
in  that  city,  its  effect  was  naturally  felt  in  the  local  ship- 


1820  TO  1840.  59 

yards.  All  the  shipbuilding  on  the  Atlantic  Coast  was 
not  done  at  New  York,  for  there  were  extensive  plants 
on  the  coasts  of  Maine  and  Massachusetts  that  launched 
every  year  a  large  tonnage,  mainly  of  sailing  vessels. 
^There  were  two  yards  opened  in  1834  that  were  subse- 
quently widely  known  for  the  steam  vessels  built  there: 
Bishop  &  Simonson,  foot  of  Walnut  street,  as  builders 
of  the  "Lexington"  in  1835  and  many  steamships:  and 
William  H.  Brown  as  builder  of  Hudson  River  steam- 
boats and  steamships.*/' 

Besides  the  improved  type  of  steam  vessels  con- 
structed at  New  York  just  prior  to  1840,  there  was  an 
improved  type  of  packet  ship  placed  in  service  for  the 
American  companies  to  accommodate  the  increasing  pas- 
senger travel.  The  ship  "Independence,"  built  by  Smith 
&  Demon  in  1831,  of  732  tons,  1401x321xl61,  had  a  reputa- 
tion for  several  years  for  a  high  average  of  speed  in  her 
voyages  in  the  European  trade.  The  "Ajax,"  built  in 
New  York  in  1832,  is  thus  mentioned  as  a  very  superior 
packet  ship:  "In  the  gentlemen's  cabin  there  are  twelve 
berths,  and  in  the  ladies'  six  berths,  all  very  spacious  and 
furnished  on  the  most  approved  plan  of  taste  and  com- 
fort. The  ceiling  being  about  SJ  feet  high,  and  the  great 
breadth  of  beam  renders  the  cabin  altogether  a  very  com- 
modious apartment.  The  work  is  all  bird's  eye  maple, 
satinwood,  rosewood,  Caracas  wood  and  mahogany. 
The  pillars  of  the  staterooms  are  all  of  the  Corinthian 
order.  Though  some  of  our  packets  can  accommodate  a 
larger  number  of  passengers,  yet  none  of  them  surpass 
the  'Ajax'  in  neatness  and  comfort." 

As  the  number  and  size  of  vessels  had  increased  so 
largely,  the  inventive  faculty  of  the  American  mechanic 
had  been  brought  into  play  to  devise  some  means  to  take 
a  vessel  out  of  the  water  for  inspection  or  repairs  to  the 
immersed  portion  of  the  vessel,  besides  the  means  then 

*The   last  vessel  built  by  Noah  Brown  was  the   ferryboat   "Sussex" 
for  the  Xew  York  and  Jersey  City  Ferry  Company  in  1833. 


60  1820  TO  1840. 

employed  on  the  marine  railway,  that  had  its  objections. 
The  New  York  Screw  Dock  Company  began  the  opera- 
tion of  a  screw  dock  in  a  slip  between  Market  and  Pike 
streets  in  September,  1827,  the  company  being  incor- 
porated April  21,  1828.  This  dock,  which  was  the  first  of 
its  design,  is  thus  spoken  of  by  an  engineer  of  that 
period:  "The  vessel  to  be  raised  by  this  apparatus  was 
floated  over  a  platform  of  wood  sunk  to  the  depth  of 
about  ten  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  sus- 
pended from  a  strongly  built  wooden  frame  work  by  16 
iron  screws  4^  inches  in  diameter.  This  platform  has 
several  shores  on  its  surface,  which  were  brought  to  bear 
equally  on  the  vessel's  bottom,  to  prevent  her  from  cant- 
ing over  on  being  raised  out  of  the  water.  About  thirty 
men  were  employed  in  working  this  apparatus,  who,  by 
the  combined  power  of  the  lever,  wheel,  pinion  and 
screw,  succeeded  in  the  course  of  half  an  hour  in  raising 
the  platform  loaded  with  a  vessel  of  200  tons  burden  to 
the  surface  of  the  water,  where  she  remained  high  and 
dry,  suspended  between  the  wooden  frames.  At  Balti- 
more I  saw  a  large  screw  dock  constructed  on  the  same 
principles,  on  which  the  platform  for  supporting  the 
vessel  was  suspended  by  forty  screws  of  about  five  inches 
in  diameter."  There  was  a  few  years  later  a  hydraulic 
dock  built  for  Eing  &  Co.,  shipwrights,  and  located  in  the 
same  vicinity,  a  portion  of  the  mechanism  of  this  dock 
having  been  constructed  by  Watt  &  Boulton,  steam 
engine  builders  of  Soho,  England,  and  was  fitted  to  raise 
a  vessel  of  800  tons.  The  perpendicular  lift  of  this  dock 
was  ten  feet.  The  first  vessel  raised  was  the  ship  "Great 
Britain"  of  724  tons  in  June,  1835.  After  being  secured 
in  the  dock  she  was  raised  out  of  the  water  in  forty-five 
minutes.  The  mode  of  raising  a  vessel  on  this  dock  was 
to  bring  the  vessel  in  between  the  two  wharfs  exactly 
over  the  cradle;  the  chains  were  then  tightened  so  as  to 
make  the  blocks  come  in  contact  with  the  keel;  water 
was  then  forced  into  the  cylinder  through  a  small  tube  by 


1820  TO  1840.  61 

means  of  a  pump,  which  caused  the  ram  to  be  forced  out, 
drawing  with  it  the  sliding  beams,  raising  the  cradle 
with  the  vessel  in  a  slow  but  steady  manner,  to  the  re- 
quired height.  The  New  York  Sectional  Dock  Company 
had  built  a  sectional  dock  from  plans  of  Phineas  Burgess 
and  Daniel  Dodge  in  1839.  This  company  was  incor- 
porated as  the  New  York  Floating  Dry  Dock  Company  on 
April  18,  1843,  having  a  capital  of  |100,000.  This  dock 
was  located  in  the  vicinity  of  the  other  floating  docks  on 
the  East  River.  To  show  that  there  was  business  for  an 
increase  of  floating  dry  docks  in  the  city  at  this  time,  it  is 
found  that  there  was  in  1836  72  steamboats  in  service  to 
and  from  New  York  that  were  built  in  the  city,  not  in- 
cluding ferryboats  or  tugboats,  the  greater  number 
having  been  built  within  three  years. 

The  marine  interests  of  New  York  were  fully  awake 
to  the  situation  of  ocean  steam  navigation  long  prior  to 
any  action  in  building  vessels  for  the  purpose  in  this 
country,  for  in  1839  there  were  two  acts  passed  by  the 
New  York  Legislature  incorporating  the  Ocean  Steam 
Packet  Company  and  the  North  American  Steam  Navi- 
gation Company.  The  incorporators  of  the  first  named 
company  were  Charles  H.  Russell,  Samuel  B.  Ruggles, 
W.  H.  Aspinwall,  John  Ward  and  William  Kent.  The 
incorporators  of  the  last  named  company  were  William 
C.  Redfield,  Henry  Grinnell,  Robert  Benson,  William 
Kemble,  Robert  Carnly  and  John  Griffith.  These  persons 
were  well  known  in  those  days  in  marine  circles  in  New 
York  City.  Nothing  further  appears  to  have  been  done 
at  the  time  than  the  creation  of  the  companies. 

TOOLS. 

Prior  to  the  separation  of  the  colonies  from  the 
mother  country,  and  no  doubt  for  years  later,  some  of 
the  edged  tools  used  in  the  shipyards  were  imported  from 
Great  Britain,  and  in  many  cases  they  were  made  by  the 
local  blacksmiths.  There  were  attempts  made  in  the 


62  1820  TO  1840. 

New  England  States  during  the  18th  century  to  establish 
factories  for  making  edge  tools,  though  there  is  no  record 
that  they  were  of  shipbuilding  specialties,  but  they  were 
of  short  duration.  In  1806  there  were  in  this  city  40 
"ironmongers  and  hardwaremen,"  but  it  was  not  until 
1816  that  Lewis  Seymour  opened  a  hardware  store  with 
mechanics'  tools  in  Chatham  street,  and  in  1824  Charles 
Merrill  in  Grand  near  Lewis  street,  that  many  of  the 
older  ship  carpenters  will  remember,  and  who  catered  to 
the  shipbuilding  trade.  There  is  one  other  who  was  in 
the  center  of  the  shipyard  district  at  the  time,  and  whose 
store  was  the  center  for  the  hardware  trade  of  the  ship- 
builders, and  that  was  William  Wright,  who  opened  in 
1832  at  North  (or  Houston)  and  Lewis  street,  known  as 
Wright's  corner.  He  was  succeeded  by  Daniel  D.  Wright 
in  1840,  who  continued  the  business  for  many  years. 

When  the  first  edged  tools  for  ship  carpenters,  such 
as  the  broad  axe,  adze,  slicer,  maul,  etc.,  as  an  established 
factory  product  was  made,  cannot  be  ascertained  at  this 
late  day.  When  the  country  began  to  prosper  after  the 
1812-14  war,  and  the  packet  lines  were  established  for  the 
immigration  service,  Congress  began  to  wake  up  to  the 
necessity  of  protecting  still  further  some  of  the  industries 
of  the  country,  and  then  it  was  we  find  there  were  some 
earnest  endeavors  made  to  manufacture  edge  tools  for 
home  consumption,  but  it  was  not  until  about  1824  when 
there  were  three  factories  in  New  York  State  making 
axes  and  edge  tools,  scythes,  etc. ;  but  in  1826  the  Collins 
Company  was  established  at  Hartford,  Conn.,  making 
edge  tools,  with  other  steel  and  iron  goods,  and  are  still 
in  active  operation.  There  followed  them  in  a  few  years 
Daniel  Simmons  of  Cohoes,  N.  Y.,  and  L.  and  I.  T.  White 
at  Buffalo,  N.  Y. ;  who  first  made  ship  carpenters'  special- 
ties of  these  manufacturers,  cannot  be  told.  It  was  not 
until  this  period  that  the  manufacturers  ground  the  dull 
edges  of  the  tools.  By  1845  there  were  many  manufac- 
turers catering  to  this  trade  through  New  York  State  and 
the  New  England  States,  and  the  dealers  in  these  special- 


1820  TO  1840.  63 

ties  in  New  York  City  were  numerous.  It  was  during 
this  period  so  many  improvements  were  made  in  hand 
tools  of  all  descriptions.  There  is  no  doubt  the  initial 
improvement  in  edge  tools  came  about  like  several  other 
changes  in  manufactures  of  the  period,  through  the  sys- 
tem of  manufacturers  brought  to  this  country  by  the 
skilled  labor  from  Europe  about  1830,  and  the  American 
mechanic,  "knowing  a  good  thing  when  he  sees  it," 
adopted  some  of  the  foreign  practice  in  connection  wTith 
his  own,  and  even  improved  on  that. 
*  The  first  manufacturer  of  edge  tools  in  New  York 
City,  with  ship  carpenters'  tools  as  a  specialty,  was  John 
Conger.  He  opened  a  small  blacksmith  shop  in  1814  in 
Suffolk  street,  but  in  1818  he  branched  out  in  making 
edge  tools  while  located  in  Grand  street.1  This  was  the 
period  when  prosperity  was  abroad  in  the  country.  He 
continued  in  the  business  at  different  places  until  1845, 
when  he  closed  up  while  located  at  33  Attorney  street. 
He  was  the  pioneer  edge  tool  manufacturer  of  New  York 
City,  i  William  Horton,  who  had  served  his  apprentice- 
ship with  John  Conger,  opened  a  shop  in  Fifth  street 
near  Lewis  in  1837,  and  removed  to  Lew^s  street  near 
Fifth  street  in  1840;  was  succeeded  by  Horton  & 
Arnold  in  1853,  who  remained  on  the  old  site  until  1868: 
Samuel  B.  Arnold  had  been  an  employee  of  William  Hor- 
ton. About  1841  Lewis  Watts  and  James  M.  Sheffield, 
who  had  also  been  in  the  employ  of  William  Horton, 
started  in  the  same  line  of  business  in  Avenue  D,  and 
these  two  manufacturers  had  the  monopoly  of  their  line 
of  business1  in  New  York  City  until  about  1852,  when  W. 
S.  Hawkins,  who  had  a  large  blacksmith  shop  in  Third 
street,  near  the  shipyards,  commenced  the  manufacture 
of  edge  tools  in  the  same  locality  as  the  other  manu- 
facturers. This  was  during  the  period  when  all  trades 
allied  to  shipbuilding  were  driven  to  the  top  notch. 
These  manufacturers  all  went  out  of  business  after  the 
close  of  the  War  of  the  Kebellion,  on  account  of  the  ship- 
yards being  unemployed.  ' 


CHAPTER   IV. 

STRIKES  OF  SHIPYARD  EMPLOYEES,  AND  FORMATION  OF  TRADE 
UNIONS  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY. 

HE  subject  of  the  relations  between  skilled 
labor  and  the  employer  in  Xew  York  City  in 
the  early  days  has  never  been  fully  written 
on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  material,  but 
such  data  as  is  available  at  this  day  show  us 
hat  the  New  York  Journeymen  Shipwrights^  jjlpcjety, 
was  the  firslria-hiTr^association  organized  in  Xew  York 
City.  The  constitution  for  the  government  of  this  society 
is  dated  January  5,  1804,  and  contains  the  names  of  forty- 
eight  of  its  members.  The  fee  of  initiation  for  the  first 
six  months  after  the  foundation  of  the  society  was  one 
dollar,  for  the  second  six  months  two  dollars,  for  the 
third  six  months  three  dollars,  and  to  the  end  of  four 
years  four  dollars,  after  which  it  was  five  dollars  initia- 
tion fee.  The  monthly  dues  were  fifty  cents  a  month. 
One  provision  of  the  constitution  stated  that  "This 
society  shall  be  composed  of  the  shipwrights  and  caulk- 
ers residing  in  the  City  and  County  of  Xew  York."  It 

Xew  York  Legis- 


lature    on    April^Ji, — IflOT,    as   the    New    York    Society 
Journeymen  Shipwrights.     The  purpose  of  the  society 
shown  in  the  provision  in  its  charter,  where  it  says: 
I    "In  order  to  raise  a  fund  for  the  support  of  such  of  the 
I   members  of  said  society  as  may  by  means  of  sickness, 
Vlameness,  age  or  other  causes  become  unable  to  labor." 
The  United  Benevolent  Society  of  Tailors  of  the  City  of 
New  York  was  incorporated  April  12,  1819.     The  Cart- 
men's  Benevolent  Society  of  the  City  of  Xew  York  was 
incorporated  January  28,  1820,  and  the  Xew  York  House 
Carpenters'   Architectural   and   Benevolent   Association 


STRIKES    OF    SHIPYARD    EMPLOYEES.  65 

was  incorporated  March  14,  1826.  One  provision  of  its 
charter  says:  "That  the  members  of  this  incorporation 
shall  not  at  any  meeting  of  said  corporation  pass  any 
resolve,  motion,  by-law,  rule,  or  regulation,  which  shall 
in  any  manner  control  or  fix  the  price  of  carpenters' 
wages  in  the  City  of  New  York,  or  shall  restrain  any 
member  from  receiving  or  paying  wages  as  he  or  they 
may  deem  proper."  The  Shipwrights'  Society  of  ISOl'N 
in  all  probability  ceased  to  exist  prior  to  the  expiration  / 
of  its  charter.  There  was  another  society  composed  of/ 
the  mechanics  of  that  trade  at  a  later  date,  that  was  not 
incorporated,  a  certificate  of  one  of  its  members  being 
now  at  Webb's  Academy  and  Home  for  Shipbuilders. 
This  certificate  was  of  "The  Union  Society  of  Shipwrights 
and  Caulkers  of  the  City  of  New  York  did  on  the  llth  day 
of  November  in  the  year  1824  admit  Hezekiah  Webb  as 
one  of  their  members  for  life.  John  Lozier,  Prest.,  Nehe- 
miah  Waterbury,  Sec'y."  This  Hezekiah  Webb  was  a 
ship  carpenter  residing  at  this  time  near  the  Manhattan 
Island  shipyards.  All  of  these  societies  were  formed  for 
beneficial  purposes,  without  any  idea  of  a  combination  in 
an  industrial  sense  as  a  trade  union.  Mutual  benefit 
societies  of  the  various  classes  of  mechanics  and  trades- 
men for  mutual  assistance  appear  to  have  been  a  prom- 
inent feature  in  the  social  organizations  of  the  cities  dur- 
ing the  first  decade  of  the  19th  century.  Philadelphia 
was  the  city  of  most  importance  in  this  line,  for  the 
record  shoAvs  that  most  of  these  associations  were  incor- 
porated, and  included  the  Carpenters'  Society,  the  oldest, 
organized  in  1724;  the  Shipmasters,  Pilots  and  Mariners' 
Society;  Stonecutters'  Company;  Master  Bricklayers' 
Society;  Hair  Dresser  and  Surgeon  Barbers'  Society; 
Typographical  Society;  Master  Tailors'  Society;  Provi- 
dent Society  of  House  Carpenters;  Master  Mechanics' 
Benevolent  Society,  and  similar  societies  of  the  cord- 
wainers,  journeymen  blacksmiths,  journeymen  tailors, 
who  had  two  mutual  benefit  societies,  and  journeymen 


66  STRIKES    OF    SHIPYARD   EMPLOYEES. 

hatters,  bricklayers  and  coopers,  and  a  society  of  mas- 
ter coopers. 

It  had  been  the  custom  in  the  shipyards,  as  of  all  the 
various  trades,  for  the  mechanics  to  labor  from  sunrise 
to  sunset,  but  about  1825  there  began  to  arrive  in  this 
city  a  few  immigrants  who  were  skilled  mechanics  of  the 
different  trades,  mainly  from  Great  Britain  and  Ger- 
many, and  a  few  of  these  were  ship  carpenters.  The 
industrial  depression  and  many  strikes  at  this  period  in 
Europe  was  one  cause  of  this  heavy  tide  of  emigration  of 
skilled  machanics  and  others  to  this  country,  who  hoped 
to  obtain  more  and  better  employment  at  their  trades. 
Prior  to  1830  there  began  to  be  agitated  in  the  city  ship- 
yards the  subject  of  the  long  hours  of  labor,  and  for  a 
few  years  this  subject  was  one  that  engaged  much  atten- 
tion. The  American  mechanic  had  been  brought  up  to 
believe  that  work  from  sunrise  to  sunset  for  a  major  por- 
tion of  the  year  was  his  portion  in  life,  even  though  he 
might  consider  the  hours  too  long;  it  was  a  part  of  his 
early  education.  All  those  who  were  willing  and  able 
worked  as  long  as  they  could  see  by  daylight,  masters, 
journeymen  and  apprentices,  storekeepers,  professional 
men,  and  where  possible  into  the  night;  they  all  did  it. 
It  was  the  habit  and  custom  that  had  been  handed  down 
to  that  generation.  It  was  when  the  foreign  mechanic 
and  laborer  had  arrived  in  numbers  on  these  shores,  and 
taken  time  to  spread  his  radical  ideas  of  the  rights  of 
labor,  with  socialistic  reform,  free  love,  community  of 
interests  and  some  other  'isms,  the  last  four  repudiated 
by  almost  the  whole  native  mechanic  circle,  that  the 
American  mechanic  began  to  view  the  labor  question 
from  a  different  standpoint,  and  then  began  the  further 
agitation  of  the  relations  of  labor  and  capital  that  in  a 
few  years  assumed  such  large  proportions,  sooner  than 
if  the  native  mechanic  had  been  left  to  work  out  his  own 
salvation  from  a  condition  that  was  almost  slavery.  The 
issue  was  only  forced  a  few  years  earlier  to  a  crisis  than 


STRIKES   OF    SHIPYARD    EMPLOYEES.  67 

if  the  native  mechanic  had  been  left  to  his  own  resources. 
It  was  through  the  social  and  political  complications  then 
taking  form,  that  the  Native  American  party,  a  political 
organization  that  was  a  factor  in  our  politics  for  several 
years,  was  formed. 

As  we  come  to  view  at  this  later  day  the  situation  of 
the  American  mechanic  when  these  imported  social  re- 
form theories  were  placed  before  them,  we  can  have  an 
idea  of  what  must  have  been  their  opinion  of  them.  To 
have  one  of  these  radical  reform  theories  to  digest  at  a 
time,  wras  as  much  political  economy  as  our  social  condi- 
tions could  at  that  time  make  room  for;  but  to  have  five 
or  six  of  them,  and  all  on  different  lines,  turned  loose  on 
the  American  public  at  about  the  same  time,  and  for 
them  not  to  have  been  carried  away  by  much  of  their 
sophistry,  shows  the  stability  of  the  American  people, 
and  particularly  the  native  mechanic,  as  clearly  demon- 
strated under  somewhat  similar  conditions  of  later  years. 
They  do  not  take  kindly  to  that  kind  of  reasoning. 

The  educational  advantages  of  New  York  City  at 
this  period  were  of  a  very  inferior  order.  The  free 
schools  of  the  city  were  attended  by  only  the  children  of 
the  very  lower  order  of  society,  while  the  native  skilled 
labor,  tradesmen  and  middle  class  patronized  the  private 
schools  of  which  there  were  about  four  hundred  and  fifty, 
the  former  being  generally  classed  as  charity  schools. 
This  had  been  the  case  for  many  years. 

To  a  workman  in  a  shipyard  during  these  days  life 
consisted  simply  of  the  abundance  of  hard  work,  with  a 
little  rest  and  fairly  good  nourishment  by  way  of  variety. 
Much  recreation  was  almost  out  of  the  question  on  ac- 
count of  the  exhaustion  from  such  long  continued  day  of 
toil.  The  writer  was  told  by  a  shipbuilder  who  was  an 
apprentice  for  Smith  &  Demon  prior  to  1830  that  many 
evenings  he  has  come  home  from  the  yard  so  completely 
worn  out  physically  from  the  labor  of  the  day,  that  he 


68  STRIKES    OF    SHIPYARD    EMPLOYEES. 

has  laid  down  to  rest,  fallen  asleep,  too  tired  to  eat  his 
evening  meal.    This  was  not  once,  but  many  times. 

The  more  this  question  of  long  hours  was  agitated 
the  more  burdensome  it  became  to  those  who  were 
obliged  to  labor  under  its  rules.  It  was  continued  for 
more  than  two  years  with  frequent  small  strikes  at  a  few 
shipyards,  but  the  men  having  no  common  plan  among 
them  for  their  guidance,  they  made  little  progress  at  the 
time.  It  was  the  first  stage  of  an  industrial  crisis  in  this 
country,  and  they  lacked  an  intelligent  guiding  hand. 
Some  of  these  strikes  were  partially  successful,  but  most 
of  them  were  failures,  so  they  did  not  command  much 
attention  at  the  time.  The  workmen  of  the  shipyards 
were  not  the  only  mechanics  that  were  now  agitating  the 
labor  question  to  better  their  condition  of  employment. 
It  was  general  among  the  various  trades  in  our  large 
cities,  and  was  manipulated  in  the  City  of  New  York  by 
the  scheming  politicians  to  their  own  advantage  for  a 
time. 

The  shipyard  employees  applied  for  a  reduction  in 
the  hours  of  labor,  but  were  each  time  met  with  a  refusal. 
They  were  no  more  unfavorably  situated  in  that  regard 
than  were  the  other  trades  workmen  at  the  time.  The 
shipbuilders  had  resolutely  set  their  faces  against  any 
reduction  in  the  hours  of  labor,  more  especially  those 
who  had  taken  contracts  based  on  the  old  time  hours  of 
labor,  who  saw  that  a  change  in  the  hours  would  mean  a 
loss  to  them  in  the  completion  of  their  contracts.  Thus 
the  contest  was  fought  step  by  step,  without  any  material 
gain  by  either  side.  It  was  a  period  of  education  for  all 
those  interested  in  more  ways  than  one.  What  added  to 
the  life  of  this  agitation,  and  became  a  great  aid  to  the 
public  discussion  of  this  question,  was  the  establishment 
of  low-priced  daily  papers  in  our  large  cities,  that  came 
within  the  means  of  the  laboring  classes,  and  that 
catered  to  the  interests  of  their  patrons.  A  feAV  of  these 
papers  are  still  published,  the  New  York  Herald  and 


STRIKES    OF    SHIPYARD    EMPLOYEES.  69 

The  Sun.*  There  were  several  labor  journals  started  at 
the  time  but  they  were  all  short  lived.  It  seems  remark- 
able that  copies  of  these  papers  cannot  be  found. 

The  step  that  eventually  brought  the  question  of  the 
hours  of  labor  to  a  settlement  in  the  shipyards  wras  the 
incorporation  of  the  New  York  Journeymen  Shipwrights' 
and  Caulkers1  Benevolent  Society  on  April  9,  1833.  There 
had  been  since  the  mechanics'  bell  was  first  erected  in  1831 
a  more  general  agitation  of  the  subject  by  the  employees, 
and  through  this  means  they  were  brought  more  closely 
together,  which  resulted  in  the  organization  of  the 
society  in  1833.  This  brought  a  more  harmonious  and 
united  organization,  having  a  common  purpose,  and 
under  better  leadership,  to  wage  the  battle  for  shorter 
hours  with  the  builders.  The  opposing  interests  were 
now  making  ready  for  the  final  stand  in  the  long  drawn 
out  conflict.  This  was  succeeded  after  many  conferences, 
between  the  builders  and  the  employees,  by  the  latter  giv- 
ing their  ultimatum  of  ten  hours  for  a  day's  labor,  the 
builders  having  offered  increased  pay  for  the  old  hours 
of  labor,  but  this  the  employees  refused.  The  builders 
finally  gave  way  to  the  inevitable,  having  seen  the  hand- 
writing on  the  wall.  This  was  some  time  in  1834,  from 
which  time  can  be  dated  the  termination  of  the  first  suc- 
cessful agitation  for  a  ten-hour  day  by  a  trade  organiza- 
tion of  mechanics  in  this  country.  This  was  what  led 
to  the  more  general  and  permanent  recognition  of  the 
mechanics'  bell.  It  was  rung  at  6  a.  m.  to  begin  work, 
8  a.  m.  for  breakfast,  9  a.  in.  for  work  again,  12  m.,  1  p.  m. 
and  6  p.  m.  to  cease  work  for  the  day.  When  it  is  brought 
to  mind  that  each  yard  was  equipped  for  the  time- 
honored  custom  of  ringing  a  bell  to  announce  the  hours 
of  labor  in  the  yard,  that  was  to  govern  all  those  em- 
ployed there,  it  will  be  seen  what  a  radical  departure  had 

*Prior  to  this  the  '"blanket"  sheets  having  a  limited  amount  of  reading 
matter  and  selling  at  three  cents  a  copy,  and  over,,  were  the  only  daily 
journals  in  the  city;  of  value  to  the  politician,  and  the  shipping  merchant. 


70  STRIKES   OF   SHIPYARD   EMPLOYEES. 

been  taken  by  the  employees  in  dictating  the  hours  of 
labor,  and  in  sounding  forth  those  hours  in  the  day  to  all 
interested  through  their  own  instrument.  The  operation 
of  this  bell  was  the  means  of  doing  more  at  this  period,  in 
all  the  mechanical  industries  in  New  York  City,  far  be- 
yond its  sound,  than  any  other  agent  to  break  down  the 
long  hours  of  labor,  that  had  been  handed  down  by  cus- 
tom for  so  many  years.  The  shipbuilders  had  their  early 
business  training  under  those  long  hours,  and  they  con- 
sidered this  the  proper  time  for  a  man  to  labor.  But  fif- 
teen years  had  brought  many  changes.  The  American 
mechanics  of  that  period  had  more  educational  advan- 
tages than  those  of  earlier  days.  Foreign  labor  had  now 
entered  the  field  at  a  time  the  native  element  was  con- 
sidering the  question  of  throwing  off  the  chains  of  long 
hours,  and  through  efforts  of  all  working  for  a  common 
end  the  ten-hour  system  was  obtained  by  all  the  trades 
eventually.* 

One  of  the  features  in  showing  how  far  personal  in- 
terest can  be  carried  under  different  surrounding  condi- 
tions, was  seen  during  this  agitation  by  the  shipyard  em- 
ployees, where  a  few  of  the  latter  were  most  enthusiastic 
in  holding  forth  the  claims  for  a  reduction  of  the  hours  as 
well  as  an  increase  in  the  wage  scale,  and  were  always 
ready  to  express  their  views  on  the  then  prominent  ques- 
tion of  the  day  in  industrial  circles;  but  when  they  were 
operating  a  shipyard  of  their  own  at  a  later  period,  and 
during  a  large  strike  when  they  had  several  unfinished 
vessels  on  the  stocks,  were  most  bitter  opponents  of  labor 
interests,  and  contributed  their  share  to  the  defeat  of  the 
strike  at  the  time.  They  were  not  in  the  "band  wagon" 
of  industrial  progress  at  this  time.  They  were  no  longer 
labor  leaders;  they  were  now  one  of  the  "capitalistic" 

*There  is  no  evidence  that  there  was  any  concert  of  action  between 
the  New  York  shipyard  employees  and  the  trade  unions  during  the  strike 
period.  The  former  evidently  carried  on  their  struggle  independent  of 
other  labor  organizations. 


STRIKES    OF    SHIPYARD    EMPLOYEES.  71 

class,  and  protecting  their  interest  on  the  inside  of  the 
fence. 

TRADE  UNIONS  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY. 

The  trade  unions  of  this  period  in  New  York  City 
were  a  result  of  the  large  immigration  from  Europe  during 
the  period  under  review.  From  Great  Britain  alone,  and 
this  includes  Ireland,  there  were  over  80,000  emigrants 
that  arrived  at  New  York  between  1825  and  1830,  but  not 
all  of  this  number  remained  in  the  city,  for  the  means  of 
communication  from  New  York  to  the  Western  States 
were  improving  very  largely  every  year.  Large  numbers 
were  going  West  to  follow  agricultural  pursuits,  while 
others  were  engaged  for  work  upon  new  railroads  just 
started,  and  public  improvements  in  near  by  States, 
while  many  who  brought  their  tools  of  trade  with  them 
remained  in  the  city.  These  people  had  left  Europe 
when  trade  unions  were  under  investigation,  for  combi- 
nations even  for  securing  higher  wages  or  shorter  hours 
was  held  to  be  criminal  under  the  common  law,  and  those 
taking  part  in  such  action  were  liable  to  criminal  prose- 
cution. Strikes  were  frequent  and  long  continued  in 
England  at  this  period,  and  that  was  one  reason  for/ so 
many  coming  to  this  country  at  the  time. 

By  1829  the  many  theories  of  social  reform  and  polit- 
ical economy  began  to  be  very  prominent  through  lec- 
tures and  discussions  in  the  daily  journals,  and  it  was 
not  very  long  before  a  workingmen's  party  was  organized 
in  New  York  City  having  many  of  these  imported  theories 
in  its  platform.  This  gave  the  leaders  of  the  old  political 
parties  considerable  anxiety  for  a  time,  but  they  soon  got 
in  their  "fine  work"  inside  the  organization,  and  in  less 
than  two  years  by  internal  dissensions  the  organization 
went  to  pieces.  The  American  mechanic,  as  a  class, 
would  not  endorse  such  theories,  but  the  politicians  used 
it  for  all  it  was  worth  to  them. 

The  developments  of  the  time  showed  that  organiza- 


72  STRIKES    OF    SHIPYARD    EMPLOYEES. 

tion  of  the  trades  workmen  was  taking  form,  but  it  would 
seem  that  no  trade  unions  were  formed  in  the  city  until 
1833,  on  account  of  a  slight  depression  in  business  and 
later  by  an  epidemic  of  cholera  in  Xew  York  City  in  1832, 
when  business  was  very  generally  suspended  for  several 
months.  These  trade  unions  were  organizations  without 
being  incorporated,  as  there  is  no  record  to  be  found  in 
any  of  the  State  or  city  public  offices  of  record  of  such 
organizations  of  that  period.  The  unions  formed  in  1833 
consisted  partly  of  the  tailors,  masons,  hatters, 
saddlers,  coopers,  printers,  cordwainers  or  shoemakers, 
piano  makers,  cabinet  makers,  curriers,  weavers  and 
carpenters.  There  were  others  no  doubt.  These  unions 
were  controlled  by  the  General  Trade  Union,  organized 
the  same  year  and  composed  of  delegates  from  the  several 
trade  organizations,  and  was  the  first  labor  federation  or 
league  in  New  York  City. 

This  General  Trade  Union  exerted  much  influence  on 
the  several  trade  unions,  and  its  officers  during  the  early 
days  of  the  organization  were:  Ely  Moore,  president, 
politician,  printer;  Henry  Walton,  vice-president;  James 
McBeath,  recording  secretary,  bookbinder;  John  H. 
Bowie,  corresponding  secretary,  currier;  Robert  Towns- 
end,  junior  treasurer,  carpenter.  We  see  that  a  politi- 
cian, who  had  held  office  under  the  city  government,  had 
the  office  of  power  in  the  organization,  but  this  came 
through  a  political  upheaval  in  the  city  at  the  time,  with 
the  Equal  Rights  party  coming  to  the  front.  The  presi- 
dent of  the  organization  made  an  address  before  the 
General  Trade  Union  in  December,  1833,  that  gives  us 
some  light  how  the  relations  of  labor  and  capital  were 
held  at  that  time  by  the  labor  interests.  The  speaker  was 
a  representative  of  labor  in  the  front  ranks  at  the  time, 
and  a  few  extracts  from  the  address  will  be  of  interest. 
"We  have  assembled  on  the  present  occasion  for  the  pur- 
pose of  publicly  proclaiming  the  motive  which  induced  us 
to  organize  a  general  union  of  the  various  trades  and 


STRIKES   OF    SHIPYARD    EMPLOYEES.  73 

arts  in  this  city  and  its  vicinity,  as  well  as  to  defend  the 
course,  and  to  vindicate  the  measures  we  design  to 
pursue.  We  conceive  it  to  be  a  truth  enforced  and  illus- 
trated by  the  concurrent  testimony  of  history  and  daily 
observation,  that  man  is  disposed  to  avail  himself  of  the 
possessions  and  services  of  his  fellow  man  without  ren- 
dering an  equivalent,  and  to  prefer  claims  to  that  which 
of  right  belongs  to  another.  This  may  be  considered  a 
hard  saying;  but  we  have  only  to  turn  our  eyes  inwarjd 
and  examine  ourselves  in  order  to  admit  to  the  full  extent 
the  truth  of  the  proposition,  that  man  by  nature  is  selfish 
and  aristocratic.  *  *  *  Wherever  man  exists,  under 
whatever  form  of  government,  or  whatever  be  the  struc- 
ture or  organization  of  society,  this  principle  of  his  na- 
ture, selfishness,  will  appear,  operating  either  for  evil  or 
for  good.  *  *  *  Much,  however,  can  be  done  toward 
restraining  it  within  proper  limits,  by  unity  of  purpose 
and  concert  of  action  on  the  part  of  the  producing 
classes.  To  contribute  toward  the  achievement  of  this 
great  end  is  one  of  the  objects  of  the  General  Trade 
Union. 

"Wealth,  we  all  know,  constitutes  the  aristocracy  of 
this  country.  Happily  no  distinctions  are  known  among 
us  save  what  wealth  and  worth  confer.  No  legal  barriers 
are  erected  to  protect  exclusive  privileges  or  unmerited 
rank.  *  *  *  The  greatest  danger  therefore  which 
threatens  the  stability  of  our  government  and  the  liberty 
of  the  people  is  an  undue  accumulation  and  distribution 
of  wealth.  And  I  do  conceive  that  real  danger  is  to 
be  apprehended  from  this  source  notwithstanding  that 
tendency  to  distribution  which  naturally  grows  out  of  the 
character  of  our  statutes  of  conveyance,  of  inheritance, 
and  descent  of  property,  but  by  securing  to  the  producing 
classes  a  fair,  certain,  and  equitable  compensation  for 
their  toil  and  skill,  we  insure  a  more  just  and  equal  dis- 
tribution of  wealth  than  can  ever  be  effected  by  statutory 
law.  Unlike  the  septennial  reversion  of  the  Jews,  or  the 


<4  STRIKES    OF    SHIPYARD   EMPLOYEES. 

Agrarian  law  of  Rome,  the  principle  for  which  we  con- 
tend holds  out  to  individuals  proper  motives  for  exertion 
and  enterprise.  We  ask  then  what  better  means  can  be 
devised  for  promoting  a  more  equal  distribution  of 
wealth  than  for  the  producing  classes  to  claim,  and  by 
virtue  of  union  and  concert,  secure,  their  claims  to 
their  respective  portions?  And  why  should  not  those 
who  have  the  toil,  have  the  enjoyment  also?  Or,  why 
should  the  sweat  that  flows  from  the  brow  of  the  laborer 
be  converted  into  a  source  of  revenue  for  the  support  of 
the  crafty  or  the  indolent?  I  am  aware  that  the  charge 
of  illegal  combination  is  raised  against  us.  The  cry  is  as 
senseless  as  it  is  stale  and  unprofitable.  Why,  I  would 
inquire,  have  not  journeymen  the  same  right  to  ask  their 
own  price  for  their  own  property,  or  services,  that  em- 
ployers have,  or  that  merchants,  physicians,  or  lawyers 
have?  Is  that  equal  justice  which  makes  it  an  offense  for 
journeymen  to  combine  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining 
their  present  prices,  or  raising  their  wages,  while  em- 
ployers may  combine  with  impunity  for  the  purpose  of 
lowering  them?  I  admit  that  such  is  the  common  law. 
All  will  agree,  however,  that  it  is  neither  wise,  just  nor 
politic,  and  that  it  is  directly  opposed  to  the  spirit  and 
genius  of  our  free  institutions,  and  ought  therefore  to  be 
abrogated." 

There  were  no  aggressive  steps  taken  now  for  some 
time  that  were  called  to  public  attention,  probably  for 
the  reason  that  they  were  feeling  the  pulse  of  the  em- 
ployer on  the  question  of  hours  and  scale  of  wages.  The 
first  trouble  of  any  magnitude  appears  to  have  broken 
out  between  the  master  tailors  and  the  journeymen 
tailors  in  February,  1836.  The  latter  refused  to  work  for 
an  employer  who  failed  to  keep  a  slate  hung  up  in  a 
public  part  of  his  store,  on  which  should  be  entered  the 
name  of  every  journeyman  taking  work  from  his  store. 
And  that  workmen  should  not  take  a  job  out  of  their  turn 
as  laid  down  by  the  association:  and  that  the  members 


STRIKES    OF    SHIPYARD    EMPLOYEES.  75 

must  refuse  to  work  for  less  than  the  union  rates.  The 
contest  was  carried  on  for  several  weeks  with  spirit  and 
energy  on  both  sides,  and  very  often  with  violence  on 
the  part  of  the  strikers  that  called  for  the  intervention  of 
the  peace  officers  of  the  city.  The  guardians  of  the  peace 
of  the  city  at  this  time  consisted  of  watchmen  who  did 
the  night  service,  and  were  called  "Leatherheads"  from 
the  imitation  of  a  fireman's  hat  they  wore.  They  were 
supposed  to  keep  the  disturbing  element  of  the  city  under 
control,  but  the  latter  had  little  respect  for  their  brief 
authority,  or  their  clubs.  There  were  also  a  small  force 
of  constables  who  did  duty  at  the  courts  and  day  service 
in  the  city.  This  was  a  force  not  exceeding  500  officers 
for  a  population  of  200,000.  In  February  "the  mayor 
ordered  the  militia  on  duty.  The  bands  of  foreigners,  in- 
stigated by  the  mischievous  councils  of  the  trades  unions, 
and  other  combinations  of  discontented  men,  are  acquir- 
ing, strength  and  importance  which  will  ere  long  be  diffi- 
cult to  quell."  These  strikers  became  so  encouraged  by 
their  freedom  from  arrest  for  their  disturbances,  and 
they  carried  their  strike  on  such  lines  as  to  show  an  utter 
disregard  for  the  public  peace,  that  it  became  necessary 
to  arrest  several  of  the  strikers.  These  men  were  brought 
to  trial  in  May,  1836,  and  twenty-one  of  them  were  con- 
victed of  conspiracy  and  riot,  and  each  one  fined  from 
fifty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  according  to  his 
prominence  in  the  trouble. 

The  charge  of  Judge  Edwards  of  the  Court  of  Oyer 
and  Terminer  in  the  sentence  of  the  prisoners  gives  a  still 
different  view  of  this  labor  question  at  the  time.  "Your 
case  affords  a  striking  manifestation  of  the  necessity  of 
the  law  extending  its  protection  to  the  individual  aimed 
at.  The  object  of  your  combination  was  not  only  to  con- 
trol the  merchant  tailor,  but  even  the  journeymen,  Your 
rules  were  craftily  devised  to  accomplish  this  object  by 
throwing  out  of  employment  any  master  or  journeyman 
who  would  not  submit  to  your  dictation.  But  you  were 


76  STRIKES    OF    SHIPYARD    EMPLOYEES. 

not  content  to  stop  here.  You  appointed  committees  to 
act  as  spies  upon  those  whom  YOU  wished  to  subject  to 
your  wrill.  Then  premises  were  placed  day  and  night 
under  their  vigilant  inspection.  You  thronged  around 
their  shops  and  were  guilty  of  gross  acts  of  indecency. 
The  journeymen  wrho  took  jobs  were  followed  to  their 
dwellings  and  otherwise  annoyed  by  you.  In  short,  every 
ingenious  devise  was  resorted  to  by  this  extensive  com- 
bination to  which  you  were  attached,  to  effect  your 
object.  Associations  of  this  description  are  of  recent 
origin  in  this  country.  *  *  *  Judging  from  what  we 
have  witnessed  within  the  last  year,  we  should  be  led 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  trades  of  the  country  which 
contribute  immeasurably  to  its  wealth,  and  upon  which 
the  prosperity  of  a  most  valuable  portion  of  the  com- 
munity hinges,  is  rapidly  passing  from  the  control  of.  the 
supreme  power  of  the  State  into  the  hands  of  private 
societies,  a  state  of  things  which  would  be  as  prejudicial 
in  its  consequences  to  the  journeymen  as  it  is  to  the  em- 
ployers, and  all  who  have  occasion  for  the  fruits  of  their 
labor.  *  *  *  They  are  of  foreign  origin,  and  I  am 
led  to  believe,  are  mainly  upheld  by  foreigners." 

To  show  how  a  part  of  the  labor  community  had  been 
affected  by  the  conviction  of  the  journeymen  tailors  and 
to  what  extent  class  hatred  was  carried,  is  shown  by  the 
posting  of  a  placard  around  the  city  which  contained 
within  the  representation  of  a  coffin  the  following  words: 

"THE  KICK  against  THE  POOR" 

"Judge  Edwards,  the  tool  of  the  Aristocracy,  against 
the  People.  Mechanics  and  Workingmen,  a  deadly  blow 
has  been  struck  at  your  Liberty.  The  prize  for  which 
your  fathers  fought  has  been  robbed  from  you.  The  free- 
men of  the  North  are  now  on  a  level  with  the  slaves  of 
the  South,  with  no  other  privileges  than  laboring,  that 
drones  may  fatten  on  your  life  blood.  Twenty  of  your 
brethren  have  been  found  guilty  of  presuming  to  resist  a 


STRIKES   OF    SHIPYARD   EMPLOYEES.  77 

reduction  of  their  wages:  and  Judge  Edwards  has 
charged  an  American  jury,  and  agreeably  to  that  charge 
they  have  established  the  precedent  that  workingmen 
have  no  right  to  regulate  the  price  of  labor:  or  in  other 
words,  the  .Rich  are  the  only  judges  of  the  wants  of  the 
Poor  man.  On  Monday,  June  6,  1836,  these  freemen  are 
to  receive  their  sentence,  to  gratify  the  hellish  appetites 
of  the  Aristocracy.  On  Monday  the  liberty  of  the  work- 
ingmen will  be  interred.  Judge  Edwards  is  to  chant  the 
Requim.  GO,  GO,  every  freeman,  every  workingman,  and 
hear  the  hollow  and  the  melancholy  sound  of  the  earth  on 
the  Coffin  of  Equality.  Let  the  courtroom,  the  city  hall, 
yea,  the  whole  park  be  filled  with  mourners.  But  remem- 
ber, offer  no  violence  to  Judge  Edwards.  Bend  meekly, 
and  receive  the  chains  wherewith  you  are  to  be  bound. 
Keep  the  peace.  Above  all  things  keep  the  peace." 

This  was  not  the  only  strike,  but  was  no  doubt  a  test 
case  forced  into  prominence  by  the  General  Trades  Union 
at  a  time  when  they  thought  they  were  sufficiently  strong 
in  numbers  and  influence  in  the  city,  and  with  enough 
political  backing  to  force  the  issue  to  a  successful 
termination.  The  only  occasion  when  this  body  of  dele- 
gates came  forward  to  publicly  support  the  action  of  the 
unions  was  on  this  occasion,  when  they  issued  a  notice  of 
their  endorsement  of  the  action  of  the  trade  union,  in  part, 
as  follows:  "At  a  special  meeting  of  the  delegates  of  the 
Trades  Unions  of  New  York  and  vicinity  on  Friday  even- 
ing, February  12th,  the  following  Preamble  and  resolu- 
tions were  adopted:  Whereas,  a  combination  of  men  styl- 
ing themselves  the  Master  Tailors  have  through  various 
newspapers  declared  that  they  will  not  receive  into  their 
employ  any  man  who  is  a  member  of  the  U.  T.  Society 
of  Journeymen  Tailors  of  this  city.  We,  the  delegates 
of  the  different  trades  in  convention  assembled  consider- 
ing that  by  the  above  avowal  of  proscription  these  said 
masters  are  arrogantly  attempting  to  coerce  the  inde- 
pendent spirited  men  who  have  taken  upon  themselves 


78  STRIKES  OF  SHIPYARD  EMPLOYEES. 

the  unquestionable  right  of  affixing  a  value  of  their  own 
labor."  After  going  into  the  subject  more  generally,  they 
conclude  their  resolutions  with  "Resolved,  that  this 
convention  recommend  the  different  societies  attached  to 
this  union,  to  take  the  preparatory  steps  as  soon  as  con- 
venient to  ensure  additional  means  to  support  the 
United  Society  of  Journeymen  Tailors  while  on  the 
strike.  Resolved,  that  the  corresponding  secretary  of 
this  union  be  instructed  to  open  immediate  correspond- 
ence with  the  different  unions  of  the  United  States 
apprising  said  unions  of  the  struggle  of  the  Journeyman 
Tailors." 

There  was  another  condition  surrounding  the  labor 
question  at  this  period  that  had  a  marked  effect  upon  the 
laboring  classes,  and  this  was  the  matter  of  slavery  in 
New  York  State.  This  was  permitted  to  exist  until  the 
New  York  legislature  in  1817  passed  an  act  that  there 
should  be  no  slavery  in  the  State  after  July  4,  1827,  when 
ten  thousand  slaves  were  set  free  by  this  act.  It  was  to 
the  former  slave  owners  in  the  Northern  States,  as  well 
as  those  of  the  Southern  States  that  the  labor  leaders 
hurled  the  name  of  Aristocracy.  Included  in  the  same 
class,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  were  many  men  who  had 
a  hold  upon  the  dominant  political  party  in  the  State, 
who  for  some  years  had  made  a  practice  of  obtaining 
charters  for  incorporated  companies,  and  covering 
among  other  things,  charters  for  banks  and  specialties  in 
industrial  pursuits.  These  men  had  accumulated  wealth 
through  the  disposal  of  these  special  privileges,  and  their 
course  of  action  had  been  noticed  by  the  industrial 
classes  with  marked  disapproval.  This  was  a  scandal 
that  did  not  die  out  in  a  short  time.  Were  our  fore- 
fathers free  from  graft  in  business? 

Ely  Moore,  who  has  been  brought  into  notice  as  the 
first  president  of  the  General  Trades  Union  in  1833,  was 
in  the  next  year  elected  as  the  Workingmen's  candidate 
from  New  York  City  to  the  House  of  Representatives, 


STRIKES  OF  SHIPYARD  EMPLOYEES.  79 

where  lie  took  his  seat  in  December  1835.  He  was  the 
only  representative  of  the  labor  interest  in  Congress  at 
that  momentous  period.  There  was  already  sufficient 
political  friction  between  the  two  sections  of  the  Union, 
with  the  question  of  finance  and  the  slavery  question  to 
discuss.  But  to  stir  the  Aristocracy  into  opposition  still 
further,  the  claims  of  labor  must  be  thrown  into  the 
arena  of  debate  in  our  national  hall  of  legislation.  The 
only  extended  speech  on  the  labor  question  Congressman 
Moore  made  was  on  April  28,  1836,  in  reply  to  some  refer- 
ences made  by  Southern  members  of  the  House  to  the 
labor  question  during  a  debate  on  the  Army  Appropria- 
tion bill,  in  which  he  said,  in  part:  "Having  been  long 
and  intimately  connected  with  their  cause,  and  approv- 
ing as  I  do  of  their  principles  and  measures,  I  cannot  con- 
sent to  hear  them  assailed  without  making  an  effort  to 
vindicate  them.  They  have  been  denounced  as  Agrarians, 
Levelers,  and  Anarchists,  and  their  union  as  unlawful 
and  mischievous.  *  *  *  The  honorable  gentleman  in 
the  course  of  his  remarks  holds  the  following  language: 
I  entreat,  gentlemen,  to  look  well  to  the  consequences 
of  the  experiment  of  sending  the  government  there  (to 
the  North)  as  a  competitor  in  the  labor  market,  and  under 
the  constraint  of  positive  orders  to  expend  this  vast  sum, 
let  labor  rise  ever  so  high.  It  is  already  one  dollar  a  day, 
when  in  the  South  and  West  it  is  only  fifty  cents.  These 
appropriations  are  not  for  this  year  alone.  They  are  the 
beginning  of  a  system  of  lavish  expenditure  which  will 
last  until  1842,  no  longer;  my  word  for  it.  Are  the 
judicious  men  of  the  North,  the  property  holders  of  the 
North,  disposed  to  organize  in  their  bosom  this  army  of 
day  laborers,  men,  wTho  all  over  the  world,  spend  be- 
tween Saturday  and  Monday  the  wages  of  the  week,  and 
who  at  the  period  of  their  disbandment  in  1842  will  be 
penniless  and  who  must  go  supperless  to  bed,  unless  they 
rob  by  lawless  insurrection  or  by  the  equally  terrible 
process  of  the  ballot  box?  Let  gentlemen  look  at  it. 


£0  STRIKES  OF  SHIPYARD  EMPLOYEES. 

They  are  in  quite  as  much  danger  of  insurrection  as  we 
are.'7  The  laboring  classes,  the  backbone  of  the 
democracy  of  the  country  rob  through  the  ballot  boxes? 
What  are  we  to  understand  by  this?  *  *  *  That 
none  but  the  wealthy  ought  to  be  allowed  to  vote,  and 
that  the  minority  should  govern.  *  *  *  Let  this  doc- 
trine be  carried  out,  and  the  principles  upon  which  the 
government  is  founded  are  utterly  subverted.  *  *  * 
I  regret  the  attack  has  been  made.  It  may  lead  to  a  con- 
troversy from  which  it  will  be  most  difficult  to  exclude 
jealousies,  heart  burnings  nad  recriminations.  I  am  not 
quite  certain,  however,  that  it  will  not  in  the  main  be 
productive  of  good.  It  may  serve  to  establish  more  dis- 
tinctly and  more  permanently  the  landmarks  which  dis- 
tinguish the  two  great  political  parties  of  this  country— 
the  Democracy  and  the  Aristocracy.  *  *  *  It  is  idle 
to  attempt  to  disguise  the  fact,  that  the  time  is  coming 
and  now  is,  when  the  political  gulf  between  these  two 
parties  must  be  widened  and  deepened.  *  *  *  It  was 
with  regret  that  I  heard  such  sentiments  uttered.  It  was 
with  regret  that  I  heard  the  integrity  of  the  laboring 
classes  so  unjustly  impugned,  and  if  it  shall  be  the  last 
act  of  my  life  I  will  attempt  to  hurl  back  the  imputa- 
tions. I  fear  that  those  attacks  upon  the  people,  which 
have  become  so  common  of  late,  are  a  prelude  to  a  pre- 
meditated assault  upon  popular  freedom.  Public  vio- 
lence and  disorder,  generally,  if  not  universally,  have 
their  origin  in  a  violation  of  the  principles  of  equality 
and  justice,  and  when  these  principles  are  outraged,  it  is 
generally  by  the  few  and  not  by  the  many,  it  being  the 
manifest  interest  of  the  majority  to  preserve  them  pure 
and  unimpaired.  All  the  horrors,  enormities  and  abom- 
inations consequent  upon  the  French  revolution  had  their 
origin  in  the  oppressions  practiced  by  the  aristocratical 
few.  But  much  has  been  said  against  associations.  Not 
of  bankers,  nor  of  brokers,  but  of  mechanics  and  laborers. 
Why,  it  has  been  asked  with  alarm  and  indignation,  why 


STRIKES  OF  SHIPYARD  EMPLOYEES.  g^ 

this  commotion  among  the  laboring  classes?  Why  this 
banding  together  and  forming  of  unions  throughout  the 
country?  These  associations  are  intended  as  counter- 
poises against  capital  whenever  it  shall  attempt  to  exert 
an  unlawful  or  undue  influence.  They  are  a  measure 
of  self  defence  and  of  self  preservation,  and  there- 
fore not  illegal.  Both  the  laws  of  God  and  Man  justify 
resistance  to  the  robber  and  homicide  even  unto  death. 
They  are  considered  necessary  guards  against  the  en- 
croachments of  mercenary  ambition,  tyranny,  and  the 
friends  of  exclusive  privileges  therefore  may  with  pro- 
priety dread  their  power  and  their  influence.  The  union 
of  the  working  man  is  not  only  a  shield  of  defense  against 
hostile  combinations,  but  also  a  weapon  of  attack  that 
will  be  successfully  wielded  against  the  oppressive  meas- 
ures of  a  corrupt  and  despotic  Aristocracy.  The  present 
indications  of  disquietude  on  the  public  mind  excites  no 
alarm  among  the  friends  of  Equal  Eights.  It  is  a  proof 
that  liberty  is  abroad,  and  that  "the  bone  and  muscle  of 
the  country"  are  imbued  with  its  spirit.  And  who  are 
they  that  clamor  against  the  efforts  of  the  laboring 
classes  to  protect  their  rights  and  elevate  their  condi- 
tion? Who  that  approve  of  indictments  and  prosecutions 
against  them,  for  seeking  refuge  in  union  and  association 
from  combination  and  oppression,  and  hold  guiltless  at 
the  same  time  the  confederates  of  all  conspiracies  against 
them?  I  will  tell  you  who  they  are:  they  are  the  sordid 
champions  of  exclusive  privileges  and  of  chartered 
monopolies,  those  cunningly  devised  substitutes  of  feudal 
tenures,  and  the  insolvent  prerogative  of  primogeniture. 
They  are  the  common  enemies  of  equal  rights,  and  of  that 
just  and  benign  policy  which  would  secure  the  greatest 
good  to  the  greatest  number.  They  are  the  Aristocracy, 
and  therefore  traitors  to  the  principles  of  the  govern- 
ment which  affords  them  protection." 

The  journeymen   tailors   were   not   the   only   trade 
union  in  New  York  City  at  this  period  making  demands 


82  STRIKES  OF  SHIPYARD  EMPLOYEES. 

for  recognition  of  their  rights  and  of  their  organization. 
The  shoe  manufacturers,  having  their  business  in  this 
city  and  their'  plants  in  New  Jersey,  were  at  this  time 
tied  up  with  strikes  of  the  operatives,  who  in  some  in- 
stances would  go  to  as  extreme  lengths  as  the  other 
organizations  under  similar  conditions.  The  Morrocco 
Manufacturers  of  New  York  City,  Brooklyn  and  Newark, 
N.  J.,  were  at  this  time  under  the  ban  of  the  Leather 
Dressers'  Trade  Union  Association,  composed  to  an  ex- 
tent of  imported  labor,  where  they  claimed  "that  the  trade 
union  is  an  impenetrable  rampart  to  the  Aristocracy  of 
the  country,  and  a  shield  to  the  workingman  from  the 
aggression  of  capital  on  the  rights  of  labor:  that  we  in- 
dividually and  collectively  pledge  ourselves  to  maintain 
and  support  the  union.7' 

It  is  a  fact  patent  to  all,  that  during  the  early  stages 
of  this  trade  union  period  in  particular,  and  undoubtedly 
later,  there  were  many  men  who  became  connected  with 
the  several  organizations,  and  with  the  main  body,  who 
had  no  interest  in  common  with  the  supporters  of  the 
union,  who  were  unprincipled  and  unscrupulous,  bound 
to  the  organization  by  ties  of  working  the  thing  for  all  it 
was  worth."  Grafters,  we  call  them  at  this  day,  and 
some  of  that  stripe  have  been  sent  to  the  State  hotel  at 
Sing  Sing  by  the  Courts  of  New  York  for  a  stated  period 
of  late  years. 

Again  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  many  of  the 
members  of  these  trade  unions  were  those  with  but  a 
limited  education,  and  in  some  cases  none  at  all:  and  it 
was  a  struggle  for  existence,  for  sustenance  for  them- 
selves and  families,  without  much  hope  to  raise  them- 
selves far  above  their  low  estate.  This  was  the  class  of 
people  who  by  placing  much  confidence  in  the  hands  of 
these  schemers,  were  very  often  used  by  the  "grafters" 
for  their  own  purposes.  The  less  educated  and  more  in- 
experienced officers  of  the  trade  unions  very  often  abused 
their  powers  of  the  organization  in  their  dealings  with 


STRIKES  OF  SHIPYARD  EMPLOYEES. 


83 


the  employers.  There  was  a  total  want  of  a  peace  mak- 
ing policy,  no  policy  at  all,  no  tact,  nothing  but  brute 
force  very  often  displayed  by  both  sides  in  the  contest. 
Here  is  what  I  offer  you,  take  it  or  that  is  all  you  will  get. 
That  is  the  spirit  that  was  manifested,  and  is  it  any 
wonder  the  employers  combined  for  their  mutual  interest 
against  such  demands;  or  that  the  laborers  rebelled? 
This  led  to  a  feeling  of  resentment  on  both  sides,  though 
for  business  reasons  may  have  been  subdued  for  the  time 
being,  and  did  not  die  out  for  many,  many  long  months. 

The  trade  unions  and  the  frequent  strikes  when  they 
were  pressed  into  action  by  those  who  were  active  in  such 
work,  walking  delegates,  or  business  agents  they  are  now 
called,  came  to  an  end  without  any  outward  sign,  and 
seemed  to  gradually  melt  away.  When  the  surrounding 
conditions  are  taken  into  consideration  it  is  not  strange 
that  the  whole  movement  went  up  into  the  air.  The 
decisions  of  the  courts  on  the  labor  question  no  doubt 
had  a  marked  effect  for  one  reason.  The  latter  part  of 
1836  saw  this  strike  fever  dying  out,  ^^presidential  elec- 
tion was  then  on  the  way,  and  in  a  few  months  the  busi- 
ness panic  of  1837  had  brought  on  a  stagnation  in  the 
industries  that  threw  very  many  of  the  laboring  classes 
on  their  own  resources,  and  the  trade  unions  were  left 
without  support  by  the  members,  and  as  the  leaders  did 
not  see  a  very  promising  field  of  labor  for  the  near  future, 
dropped  the  whole  thing,  and  the  organization  fell  from 
the  want  of  support.  When  business  revived  again  dur- 
ing the  following  year  most  of  the  trade  unions  had 
ceased  to  exist,  and  wages  of  mechanics  were  at  a  lower 
level  than  they  had  been  for  a  long  time.  The  supply  of 
skilled  labor  was  greater  than  the  demand.  This  ended 
the  first  trade  union  fever  in  this  country,  and  it  was 
many  years  before  it  broke  out  again. 

The  first  change  to  the  ten-hour  system  in  govern- 
ment service  appears  to  have  been  under  an  executive 


84  STRIKES  OF  SHIPYARD  EMPLOYEES. 

order  of  President  Van  Buren  of  March  31,  1840  *  *  * 
"hereby  directs  that  all  such  persons,  whether  laborers  or 
mechanics,  be  required  to  work  only  the  number  of  hours 
prescribed  by  the  ten-hour  system." 


CHAPTER  V. 

MECHANICS'  BELL. 

HERE  are  some  features  surrounding  the 
original  mechanics  bell  that  were  not  made 
clear  until  they  were  brought  out  through  an 
examination  of  the  permit  from  the  city 
authorities  for  the  erection  of  the  tower  sup- 
porting the  bell.  On  September  5,  1831,  at  a  meeting  of 
the  Board  of  Aldermen  "A  petition  of  Isaac  Hadden  and 
others  for  permission  to  place  a  bell  on  the  vacant  square 
at  Manhattan  Market  was  read  and  referred  to  the  Alder- 
men and  Assistant  Aldermen  and  street  commissioner." 
On  September  12  following,  the  official  papers  say  that 
"The  Alderman  and  Assistant  Alderman  of  the  llth 
Ward,  and  Street  Commissioner,  to  whom  was  referred 
the  petition  of  a  number  of  persons  for  the  privilege  of 
erecting  a  bell  frame  in  the  square  around  Manhattan 
Market,  presented  the  following  report  in  favor  of  the 
same:  'The  Alderman  and  Assistant  Alderman  of  the 
llth  ward,  and  Street  Commissioner  to  whom  was  re- 
ferred the  petition  of  shipsmiths,  carpenters,  etc.,  who 
work  at  the  different  shipyards  at  or  near  Manhattan 
Island,  praying  permission  to  erect  a  sufficient  frame  or 
fixture  in  the  vacant  space  around  Manhattan  Market, 
on  which  to  suspend  a  bell  for  the  purpose  of  giving  reg- 
ular notice  when  to  commence  and  when  to  quit  work, 
beg  leave  to  report:  That  on  examination  they  find  the 
petitioners  have  procured  a  sufficient  bell  for  the  pur- 
pose, that  there  is  abundance  of  room  in  the  vacant  space 
referred  to  to  erect  a  frame  or  small  enclosure  without 
incommoding  the  public  or  any  individual,  and  your  com- 
mittee deeming  it  proper  to  grant  the  prayer  of  the  peti- 
tioners, respectfully  offer  for  the  adoption  of  the  Common 


86 


MECHANICS'  BELL. 


Council  the  following  resolution:  Kesolved,  if  the  Board 
of  Assistant  Alderman  concur,  that  James  Dobbs,  Isaac 
Hadden  and  associates  be  permitted  at  their  own  ex- 
pense, under  the  direction  of  the  Superintendent  of 
Wharves,  to  erect  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  the 
square  around  Manhattan  Market  a  sufficient  frame  and 
enclosure  on  which  to  suspend  a  bell,  provided  that  the 


44 


said  frame  or  enclosure  shall  not  exceed  10  square 
feet  (?)  at  its  base,  be  handsomely  finished,  painted,  and 
kept  in  repair,  and  that  the  said  frame  and  enclosure,  and 
bell  be  removed  from  off  the  premises  whenever  the  Com- 
mon Council  shall  direct,  by  resolution  or  otherwise,  pro- 
vided that  the  corporation  may  cause  it  to  be  rung  at 
fires.' ?  This  report  was  approved  by  the  Board  of  Alder- 
men, and  sent  to  the  Board  of  Assistant  Aldermen  for 
concurrence.  The  Market  committee  of  the  Assistant 
Board  of  Aldermen  on  September  19th  following  re- 
ported "on  petition  of  sundry  persons  to  have  permssion 
to  erect  a  bell  frame  in  the  square  around  the  Manhattan 


MECHANICS'  BELL.  87 

Market,  .granting  the  same.  Concurred  in."  This  com- 
pletes the  official  record  showing  that  the  privilege  to 
erect  a  bell  tower  on  city  property  had  been  given  on  Sep- 
tember 19,  1831. 

The  two  representatives  of  the  petitioners  to  the  city 
authorities  wrere  James  Dobbs,  a  ship  carpenter,  and 
Isaac  Hadden,  a  spar  maker. 

It  has  been  a  matter  of  some  thought  to  those  who 
have  given  the  subject  a  study,  why  the  original  bell  was 
located  so  far  up  town,  when  the  greater  number  of  ship- 
yards wrere  belowr  Grand  street,  for  at  this  time  there 
were  only  three  shipyards  above  Grand  street :  these  were 
Isaac  Webb  &  Co.,  Brown  and  Bell,  and  Smith,  Demon 
&  Comstock,  the  latter  being  at  foot  Fourth  street. 

In  the  report  of  the  committee  of  the  Board  of  Alder- 
men is  found  a  few  words  that  show  this  bell  was  erected 
by  a  comparatively  few  shipyard  employees,  and  was  a 
matter  that  concerned  only  a  certain  locality.  It  says: 
"the  petition  of  shipsmiths,  carpenters,  etc.,  who  work  at 
the  different  shipyards,  at  or  near  Manhattan  Island." 
This  clearly  shows  that  the  employees  of  the  yards  of 
Webb  and  Allen,  Brown  and  Bell,  and  Smith,  Demon  & 
Comstock,  had  associated  themselves  together  for  the 
purpose  of  making  a  custom  of  the  ten-hour  system  of 
work,  irrespective  of  their  fellow  laborers  in  the  other 
yards  in  the  city.  There  was  at  this  time  a  want  of 
unanimity,  that  had  been  growing  for  some  time,  among 
the  employees  of  the  different  yards  as  to  the  proper 
course  to  pursue  to  obtain  their  object  of  ten  hours  a  day. 
This  came  from  the  fact  that  these  shipyards  at  and  near 
Manhattan  Island  were  occupied  by  builders  who  were 
the  latest,  and  largely  patronized  by  the  owners  of  steam 
vessels,  more  so,  probably,  than  the  builders  situated  at 
Corlears  Hook,  and  the  employees  at  the  former  yards 
come  to  look  upon  the  structures  launched  from  the  Man- 
hattan Island  yards  as  being  the  finest  production  of  the 
shipbuilders  art  in  the  city,  which  bred  in  their  minds  the 


88  MECHANICS'  BELL. 

opinion  that  the  building  of  steam  vessels  was  a  higher 
branch  of  the  business  than  the  construction  of  sailing 
vessels.  This  produced  something  of  a  feeling  between 
the  employees  at  the  two  localities,  and  while  it  was  not 
carried  so  far  as  to  break  off  all  intercourse  between  the 
employees  at  the  different  yards,  it  left  a  strained  feeling 
between  them  that  prevented  any  united  action  being 
taken  for  the  good  of  the  whole  number,  and  at  the  same 
time  caused  a  want  of  confidence  on  both  sides  that  re- 
mainded  for  about  two  years.  It  has  been  considered  by 
some  who  were  employed  in  the  yards  at  that  period,  that 
the  builders  so  manipulated  affairs  as  to  bring  the  labor 
interests  in  the  shipyards  of  the  two  localities  in  oppo- 
sition to  one  another,  thinking  by  so  doing  that  there 
would  be  no  unity  of  action  taken  by  the  men  during  the 
then  period  of  labor  agitation,  and  fostered  this  feeling 
until  it  became  a  want  of  confidence  on  both  sides,  and 
so  continued  to  keep  them  from  any  united  action  until 
the  formation  of  the  society  in  1833,  when  the  builders' 
labor  troubles  ended.  The  location  of  this  original  bell 
at  Manhattan  market  square  thus  became  the  action  of  a 
portion  of  the  shipyard  employees  of  the  city  at  the  time, 
and  was  established  as  a  local  affair  through  the  want  of 
unity  among  those  most  interested. 

This  original  bell  could  not  have  been  of  a  large  size, 
for  the  restrictions  placed  upon  the  dimensions  of  the 
tower  in  which  the  bell  was  to  be  hung,  were,  "that  the 
said  frame  or  enclosure  shall  not  exceed  ten  square  feet 
at  its  base."  (Should  this  be  ten  feet  square?}  Taking 
into  consideration  that  the  bells  in  the  fire  alarm  towers 
in  the  city  at  this  time,  with  the  exception  of  the  City 
Hall  bell,  were  not  over  thirty  inches  diameter  at  the 
mouth,  it  is  fair  to  say  that  the  original  mechanics'  bell, 
with  its  small  tower  compared  to  the  fire  alarm  towers, 
was  about  eighteen  inches  diameter  at  the  mouth  and 
was  operated  by  a  rope.  A  bell  of  this  size  would  have 
been  of  little  service  in  that  location  to  the  employees  of 


MECHANICS'  BELL. 


89 


the  shipyards  at  Corlears  Hook,  that  were  located  about 
one  half  a  mile  further  down  the  river,  with  rising  ground 
between  the  two  locations.  This  bell  did  service  in  the 
same  tower  until  1834  or  1835  when  a  larger  bell  was 
erected  in  its  place,  and  it  may  have  been  one  of  the 
small  bells  from  the  fire  alarm  towers  that  were  now 
being  changed  for  those  of  larger  size.  It  is  thought  by 
some  of  the  older  shipyard  employees  at  this  day  that 
the  original  bell  was  recast  with  additional  metal.  This 
bell  remained  on  the  same  tower,  that  was  about  twenty 
or  twenty-five  feet  high,  and  sent  forth  its  notes  to  many 
a  joyful  mechanic  calling  to  mind  his  relief  from  the 
long  hours  of  labor  each  day,  such  as  his  forefathers  were 
compelled  to  perform.^  By  1844  the  shipyards  extended 
in  an  almost  solid  line  along  the  East  river  from  Grand 
street  to  12th  street,  with  a  few  still  at  Corlears  Hook. 
The  location  of  the  industry  had  so  greatly  changed  from 
the  time  of  the  original  location  of  the  bell  that  it  was 
now  considered  advisable  to  place  it  in  a  more  central 
location,  and  with  that  purpose  in  view  it  was  removed 
in  that  year  to  a  vacant  lot  southwest  corner  of  Lewis  and 
5th  streets,  and  in  view  of  some  differences  with  the  owner 
of  the  lot  who  was  a  shipbuilder,  the  shipyard  employees, 
who  were  the  owners  of  the  bell  and  structure,  removed 
them  a  year  or  so  later  to  Bishop  &  Simonson's  yards 
nearly  opposite*  Here  it  remained  and  did  working  day 
service  until  1872  when  the  whole  affair  was  removed 
to  foot  of  Fourth  street.  At  this  time  there  was  not  one 
shipyard  on  the  New  York  side  of  the  river  that  was 
open:  the  few  that  were  in  active  operation  were  at  Wil- 
liamsburg  and  Greenpoint,  and  they  were  few,  and  not 
heavily  burdened  with  work.  The  bell  still  was  kept  in 
operation.  In  the  early  part  of  1880  it  became  cracked, 
and  it  was  necessary  to  have  another  one  take  its  place, 

*It  was  now  rung  by  a  rod  fastened  to  a  lever,  that  was  operated 
similar  to  a  pump  handle. 


I 


mi 


*$ 


Im 


MP:CHANICS'   BELLS.  g-^ 

so  a  new  bell  was  cast  from  the  metal  of  the  old  one  by 
James  Gregory  of  Cannon  street,  the  brass  founder,  who 
had  been  in  that  location  since  about  1850,  being  the  suc- 
cessor of  William  Buckley,  the  bell  founder.  This  new 
bell  remained  in  the  same  location,  and  the  cause  for  its 
operation  having  passed  away,  it  was  removed  on  Feb- 
ruary 10,  1897,  to  Webbs  Academy  and  Home  for  Ship- 
builders, where  it  is  expected  to  remain  undisturbed  as 
one  of  the  few  remaining  relics  of  New  York's  old  time 
shipyards.  There  has  been  a  proposition  made  to  have 
the  bell  erected  in  a  tower  such  as  it  occupied  in  its  days 
of  activity,  on  the  grounds  of  the  Academy  at  Fordham 
Heights.  This  bell  is  36  inches  diameter  outside  at  the 
mouth,  26^  inches  high,  and  20  inches  at  the  crown  and 
weighs  about  900  pounds.  There  is  cast  on  the  body  of 
the  bell,  Mechanics  Bell — Gregory — New  York  1880. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

NEW  ERA  IN  SHIPBUILDING— OCEAN    STEAMSHIPS^FIRST    CLIP- 
PER SHIPS. 

jHEKE  now  arrived  one  of  the  most  important 
epochs  in  the  industrial  development  of  this 
country:  no  more  in  other  mechanical  pur- 
suits than  in  the  shipbuilding  industry:  and 
what  is  of  interest  to  all  citizens  of  New  York 
City  is  the  fact  that  this  city  contributed  its  full  share  of 
the  progress  in  the  arts  and  sciences  of  the  time,  and 
never  flagged  in  its  endeavor  to  keep  up  with  the  march 
of  industrial  progress  in  this  country.  Our  renowned 
sailing  packets  had  a  few  j^ears  before  met  competition 
in  the  European  trade  by  steam  vessels  of  foreign  com- 
panies, and  for  a  time  the  packets  were  able  to  hold  their 
own  in  the  passenger  trade.  In  a  few  years  these  vessels 
were  succeeded  by  sailing  vessels  of  a  sharper  model. 
Younger  men  had  in  many  instances  come  into  control  of 
the  older  yards.  New  yards  had  also  been  opened,  and 
more  progressive  ideas  were  again  taking  hold  of  the 
shipbuilding  business  in  the  city,  and  in  a  few  years  the 
beneficial  effects  of  these  changes  became  apparent.  The 
packets  had  been  increasing  in  dimensions  for  ten  years 
or  more,  so  that  by  1840  those  under  construction  were 
near  to  1,000  tons  each.  This  type  of  vessel,  with  the  full 
bow  and  wide  square  stern  was  the  fast  sailer  from  1816 
to  1840,  but  after  the  latter  date  there  developed  various 
branches  of  trade  in  which  a  quick  delivery  was  as  im- 
portant for  trade  purposes  as  it  was  for  the  passenger 
trade.  The  restless  energy  of  the  American  merchant 
began  to  show  again  in  our  foreign  commerce.  For  in- 
stance there  was  the  tea  and  spice  trade  from  China  and 
East  Indies  to  the  United  States,  in  which  a  short  time 


NEW   ERA   IN    SHIPBUILDING.  93 

delivery  had  always  been  considered  of  much  importance. 
The  cargoes  consisted  of  tea,  coffee,  dried  fruit,  etc., 
which  were  liable  to  deteriorate  in  a  voyage  of  four 
months  or  more  to  the  home  port,  and  to  shorten  the 
voyage  as  much  as  possible  was  desirable  for  many  rea- 
sons. The  first  tea  clipper  ships  were  the  "Helena,"  built 
in  1841  by  W.  H.  Webb,  then  the  "Montauk"  by  the  same 
builder,  and  the  "Rainbow"  by  Smith  &  Demon  in  1844, 
and  the  "Houqua"  in  the  same  year  by  Brown  &  Bell, 
the  "Sea  Witch"  in  1846  by  Smith  &  Demon,  and  the 
"Samuel  Russell"  in  1847  by  Brown  &  Bell.  These 
vessels  were  not  representative  of  the  clippers  of  a  few 
years  later:  they  were  much  smaller,  and  the  early  ones 
were  not  so  heavily  constructed  so  as  to  stand  the  whip 
and  spur  for  driving  as  were  those  of  later  years,  though 
some  made  remarkably  fast  voyages,  and  passed  through 
some  trying  occasions  at  sea. 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  our  packet  ships,  cater- 
ing to  the  emigrant  passenger  trade  on  the  Atlantic 
ocean,  mainly  with  Great  Britain,  were  making  long 
voyages  at  this  time,  for  there  were  several  then  running 
to  New  York  after  1840  that  made  voyages  from  New 
York  to  Liverpool  in  16  days,  and  from  Liverpool  to  New 
York  in  22  days.  The  average  for  one  year  was  23  days 
from  New  York  to  Liverpool,  and  34  days  from  Liverpool 
to  New  York.  These  were  all  New  York  built  vessels. 

The  system  of  construction  of  the  larger  vessels  was 
not  always  the  same  at  the  different  periods.  Up  to  about 
1830  the  skilled  mechanic  in  the  shipyard  performed 
work  of  any  character  that  was  necessary  to  the  building 
of  the  vessel.  He  would  aid  in  the  hewing  out  to  the 
lines,  the  frames  of  the  vessel,  and  participate  in  setting 
them  up  in  their  proper  places.  Would  line  out  his 
strake  of  planking  on  the  timbers  of  the  vessel,  dub  off 
the  outer  surface  of  the  frames  so  that  the  plank  might 
fit  truly:  put  on  the  plank,  bore  the  holes  for  the  treenails 
and  bolts,  fasten  the  plank  in  place,  and  even  caulk  the 


94  NEW   ERA   IN   SHIPBUILDING. 

seams  of  the  planking:  and  when  it  became  necessary  to 
have  a  large  and  heavy  stick  of  timber  placed  in  position 
in  the  vessel,  all  hands  were  called  from  their  work  to 
carry  on  their  shoulders  these  large  pieces  of  timber, 
sometimes  taking  twenty-five  or  more  men.  After  the  ten 
hour  system  was  brought  into  practice  there  was  a  break- 
ing up  of  the  labor  in  the  yards,  each  man  having  a 
specialty,  as  a  carpenter,  caulker,  fastener,  etc.,  the  men 
in  each  kind  of  work  called  a  gang.  This  change  took 
some  time  before  it  came  generally  into  use,  but  it  was  a 
system  under  which  time  was  saved  and  better  work  se- 
cured than  under  the  old  system.  Subsequently  derricks 
were  installed  at  the  better  yards  for  handling  the  heavy 
timber,  and  some  yards  never  made  improvements  in 
methods  of  building  unless  forced  to  do  so.  Treenails 
were  at  first  made  by  hand,  and  were  chopped  out  of 
sticks  of  wood  with  axes:  but  a  treenail  lathe  machine 
was  invented  in  1838  to  do  this  work  more  quickly  and 
accurately. 

A  later  view  of  the  question  of  labor  in  the  shipyards 
has  been  obtained  by  an  examination  of  the  payroll  of 
one  of  the  largest  of  our  old-time  New  York  shipbuilders, 
that  runs  from  1840  to  1845.  It  is  found  that  in  1840  the 
ship  carpenters  were  paid  $2.00  per  day,  and  the  caulkers 
the  same  daily  wage.  This  rate  continued  for  the  better 
class  of  mechanics  for  near  ten  years.  The  apprentices, 
of  which  there  were  six  in  this  yard  at  the  time,  were  paid 
from  50  cents  ,to  64  cents  per  day,  according  to  their 
length  of  service  and  their  skill.  A  year  later  this  yard 
had  for  its  skilled  labor  13  ship  carpenters  and  18  caulk- 
ers, and  a  few  months  later  the  number  of  carpenters  had 
increased  to  26  and  there  were  ten  apprentices.  In  the 
summer  of  1842  there  were  79  ship  carpenters  employed 
•on  seven  sailing  vessels  and  one  steamboat.  Among  the 
apprentices  now  employed  here,  some  of  whom  had  been 
for  a  greater  time  than  others  employed  in  this  yard,  may 
be  named  those  who  were  well  known  in  the  business  at  a 


NEW   ERA   IN   SHIPBUILDING.  95 

later  date  as  men  of  known  skill  in  shipbuilding  at  New 
York:  Eckford  Webb,  a  brother  of  W.  H.  Webb,  George 
Bell,  these  two  subsequently  became  partners  in  business 
at  Greenpoint,  L.  I. :  George  Wilmurt  and  Leonard  Bolles. 
They  received  now  from  50  cents  to  78  cents  per  day. 
There  were  now  eight  sub-contractors,  or  lumpers  so 
called,  at  work  in  the  yard  on  eight  vessels.  In  May, 
1843,  there  were  eight  vessels  under  construction  at  one 
time,  with  twelve  carpenters  and  fifteen  apprentices,  and 
eight  sub-contractors.  In  September  1844  there  were  ten 
vessels  under  construction  at  one  time.  Christian  Metz- 
gar  was  the  foreman  at  this  yard  during  the  whole  period 
of  its  activity. 

/The  shipyards  of  1840  to  1845  were  somewhat 
changed  in  location  from  what  they  were  a  decade  before. 
There  were  now  but  few  yards,  not  more  than  four,  at 
Corlears  Hook,  a  new  one  being  established  in  1841  by 
Westervelt  and  Mackey,  who  in  1844  moved  their  yard  to 
Lewis  and  Seventh  street.  *  This  firm  was  of  much 
prominence  during  the  later  years  of  prosperity.  '  It  is 
found  that  the  shipyards  extended  in  almost  a  solid  line 
from  Grand  street  to  Twelfth  street, 'where  William  H. 
Brown  had  for  a  few  years  been  building  vessels.  Wil- 
liam H.  Webb  was  then  located  at  Sixth  street,  Smith 
and  Demon  at  Fourth  street,  and  Brown  and  Bell  at 
Stanton  street.  William  H.  Brown  and  John  English 
were  now  in  control  of  the  marine  railway  at  Tenth  street, 
and  had  most  of  the  repair  work  on  vessels  of  large  ton- 
nage in  the  city.  Some  of  the  other  builders,  besides 
those  previously  named,  on  the  New  York  side  of  the 
river,  were  Jabez  Williams,  Devine  Burtis  &  Co.,  Hay- 
thorn  &  Steers,  Bishop  &  Simonson,  Buckman  and  Casi- 
lear,  Whitlock  and  Berrian,  Bayles  &  Brown,  William 
Bennett,  and  Lawrence  &  Sneeden. 

The  building  of  the  first  clipper  ships  had  no  more 
than  got  well  under  way  than  great  improvements  were 
made  in  the  new  steamboats  put  under  contract:  they 


lit, 


NEW   ERA   IN   SHIPBUILDING.  97 

were  of  larger  dimensions,  more  commodious,  having 
staterooms  and  more  propelling  power  of  machinery. 
These  vessels  were  now  for  the  large  transportation  com- 
panies mainly,  though  there  were  a  few  for  individual 
owners.  A  few  years  later  there  began  inquiries  regard- 
ing the  building  of  steamships  for  European  service,  and 
later  it  assumed  the  form  of  a  postal  contract  with  the 
United  States  Government,  and  in  1847  when  a  company 
had  been  organized  Westervelt  &  Mackay  were  given 
the  contract  for  building  the  first  American  ocean  mail 
steamships.  This  was  followed  the  same  year  by  Wil- 
liam H.  Webb  building  the  "United  States"  for  Charles 
H.  Marshall  &  Co.  of  the  Black  Ball  line  of  packets:  and 
in  1849  Westervelt  &  Mackay  constructed  two  for  the 
Havre  line.  This  completes  the  list  of  ocean  steamships 
built  prior  to  the  far-famed  Collins  line  of  steamships. 
The  fleet  of  this  company  were  the  "Atlantic"  and  the 
"Arctic,"  built  by  William  H.  Brown,  and  the  "Pacific" 
and  the  "Baltic"  by  Brown  &  Bell,  and  the  "Adriatic," 
or  at  first  intended  to  be  named,  the  "Antarctic,"  by 
George  Steers.  About  the  same  time  began  the  building 
of  the  steamships  for  the  Southern  coastwise  lines,  the 
"Northerner"  for  the  Charleston  line  in  1847,  the  "Fal- 
con" in  1848  for  the  California  trade,  both  by  William  H. 
Brown;  the  "Georgia"  in  1849  by  Smith  &  Demon,  and 
the  "Ohio"  by  Jeremiah  Simonson  in  the  same  year,  both 
for  the  California  trade.  In  the  same  year  the  first 
steamship  for  the  Savannah  line,  the  "Cherokee"  was 
built  by  William  H.  Webb.  There  were  a  large  number 
of  steamships  built  during  this  period  for  service  occa- 
sioned by  the  gold  excitement  in  California.  This  latter 
factor  added  immensely  to  the  business  of  the  New  York 
shipyards,  as  it  did  to  the  shipbuilding  industry  of  other 
Atlantic  coast  cities,  both  for  steam  vessels  as  well  as  for 
sail  vessels,  that  lasted  for  four  or  more  years.  The  ex- 
tension of  our  coastwise  commerce  with  steam  vessels  at 
this  period  was  a  factor  of  much  interest  to  the  local 


98  NEW   ERA  IN   SHIPBUILDING. 

shipyards,  as  the  larger  number  of  these  vessels  were 
built  at  New  York.  Then  to  increase  the  business  still 
further  there  was  a  lively  competition  going  on  between 
the  several  established  lines  and  outside  interests  on  the 
Hudson  river,  and  the  demand  for  four  or  more  years  was 
very  great  for  high  speed  passenger  steamboats  of  large 
size,  several  of  which  made  long  runs  on  the  river  in 
record  time  that  is  even  of  interest  at  this  day,  and  all  of 
them  built  at  New  York.  So  we  see  there  was  a  steady 
hum  of  the  broad  axe  in  our  shipyards  not  many  years 
prior  to  its  first  stage  of  decline. 

Referring  to  the  high  speed  steamboats  of  the  Hud- 
son river,  built  during  this  period  of  intense  rivalry  on 
the  river  at  New  York  City  shipyards,  it  will  be  of  interest 
to  refer  to  some  incidents  in  the  career  of  the  "Em- 
pire," built  by  William  H.  Brown  in  1843,  and  the 


"Thomas  Powell"  by  Lawrence  &  Sneeden  in  1846, 
vessels  that  were  well  known  on  the  river  at  the  time. 
The  facts  referred  to  are  those  lately  published  in  the 
Scientific  American  Supplement  in  a  series  of  papers  by 
the  writer  on  "The  Development  of  Armored  War  Ves- 
sels and  Armor  Plating  in  the  United  States,"  where  he 
says: 

"What  gave  our  naval  architects,  as  well  as  Col. 
Ellet,  the  first  practical  demonstration  of  the  value  of  the 
principles  of  high  speed  and  strength  of  a  vessel  to 
destroy  an  enemy's  vessel  by  forcible  contact  was  that  of 
the  occasion  of  a  light-built  river  steamboat  running  into 
a  solid-built  pier  in  the  City  of  New  York,  with  compara- 
tive slight  injury  to  the  vessel.  It  was  in  the  early  morn- 
ing of  April  25,  1845,  that  the  steamboat  'Empire  of 
Troy,'  of  the  New  York  and  Troy  line  was  coming  down 


NEW   ERA   IN   SHIPBUILDING.  99 

the  Hudson  river,  and  when  opposite  the  upper  part  of 
New  York  City  during  a  fog  on  the  river,  ran  into  the  end 
pier  of  the  new  dock  at  19th  street,  about  thirty  feet  from 
the  outer  end,  and  cut  her  way  through  the  timbers  of 
the  dock  and  stone  filling  of  the  cribwork.  This  pier  of 
cribAvork  was  40  feet  square.  There  were  three  of  these 
piers  under  this  dock,  the  latter  being  265  feet  long  from 
the  bulkhead  and  40  feet  wide,  and  lacked  the  heavy 
plank  facing  to  be  completed.  The  sills,  string  pieces, 
and  heavy  timbers  of  the  dock  were  of  rough  timber  18 
inches  square,  and  the  'Empire'  cut  through  these  with 
a  'tremendous  crash/  cutting  them  short  off,  as  a  light 
piece  of  wood  would  be  cut  with  a  sharp  tool.  These  tim- 
bers wrere  afterward  found  to  be  sound  and  free  from  de- 
fects, excepting  those  caused  by  the  steamboat  collision. 
The  'Empire'  plowed  her  way  through  the  solid  rock 
filling  of  the  pier  some  27  feet  before  stopping.  The 
opening  by  measurement  at  the  time  showed  the  18 
inches  of  timber,  then  solid  stone  filling  of  8^  feet  thick, 
and  then  through  earth  and  rubbish  17  feet  further,  mak- 
ing a  total  opening  of  27  feet  long,  and  17  feet  deep  at  the 
deepest  point.  The  stem  piece  of  the  vessel  was  carried 
away,  several  of  the  forward  ends  of  the  planking  on 
either  side  were  badly  shattered,  and  a  few  of  the  frames 
started.  Both  of  the  forward  ends  of  the  hog  frames  of 
the  vessel  were  broken. 

"When  the  type  of  vessel  is  taken  into  consideration, 
being  307  feet  long,  30  feet  6  inches  beam,  or  about  1  to 
10,  and  built  with  a  flat  floor  that  ran  well  out  to  the  fore 
body  of  the  vessel,  to  make  her  as  light  draft  as  possible ; 
coming  down  the  river  with  a  strong  tide,  that  was  on 
the  last  hour  of  the  ebb;  and  when  the  filling  of  the  pier 
was  the  most  exposed,  it  is  certainly  remarkable  that  the 
vessel  w^as  not  more  seriously  injured;  but  as  it  was,  the 
hog  frames  being  partially  broken  and  otherwise  badly 
strained,  showed  the  vessel  received  at  the  time  a  severe 
shock  throughout  the  whole  structure.  It  was  only  that 


100  NEW    KIIA    IN    SHIPBUILDING. 

the  vessel  was  traveling  at  a  high  velocity  when  she 
struck  the  pier  that  saved  her  from  being  badly  crushed, 
for  it  must  be  remembered  she  was  not  a  heavy -built 
vessel,  nor  was  she  a  shell.  She  was  undoubtedly  moving 
at  the  time  of  the  impact  at  not  less  than  12  miles  an 
hour.  She  had  been  racing  all  night  from  Albany  with 
an  opposition  boat,  and  the  time  made  from  Albany  to 
the  pier  when  struck  showed  an  average  of  18  miles  an 
hour.  This  was  no  accident. 

"This  ramming  incident  was  variously  commented  on 
at  the  time  by  those  in  the  more  progressive  marine 
circles,  and  it  caused  much  speculation  and  thought  on 
the  subject  of  steam  vessels  being  brought  into  forcible 
contact  at  a  high  speed.  It  was  a  subject  of  much  local 
comment  for  some  time  how  the  vessel  escaped  destruc- 
tion. 

"There  was  one  other  incident  of  the  same  nature  that 
occurred  some  years  later,  and  these  complete  the  list  of 
wooden-hull  river  steamboats  running  into  stone  crib 
piers  with  slight  injury  to  the  vessel,  in  the  United 


States.  The  'Thomas  Powell'  was  running  between 
New  York  and  Catskill  on  the  Hudson  river  as  a  night 
boat,  and  on  July  23,  1868,  when  about  four  miles  from 
her  berth  at  the  former  city,  ran  into  a  dock  at  the  foot  of 
59th  street,  North  River,  and  met  with  comparatively 
slight  damage  when  considering  the  age  of  the  vessel.  It 
seems  that  the  vessel  ran  into  a  thick  fog  during  the 
night  on  her  trip  down  the  river.  The  pilot  on  watch  in 
the  early  morning  had  but  a  limited  experience  on  steam- 
boats, though  he  had  seen  several  years'  service  on  the 


NEW   ERA   IX   SHIPBUILDING.  101 

river.  He  was  feeling  his  way  down  the  river  in  the  fog, 
and  up  to  four  o'clock,  when  the  vessel  ran  into  the  dock, 
had  been  making  a  speed  of  about  12  miles  an  hour.  The 
vessel  struck  the  string  piece  of  the  dock  with  a  fearful 
crash,  and  this  was  the  first  warning  they  had  of  the 
impending  danger.  Some  idea  of  the  velocity  of  the 
vessel  when  striking  the  dock  may  be  formed,  when  stat- 
ing that  she  tore  diagonally  through  the  superstructure 
of  the  dock  between  two  piers  of  stone  cribwork,  and 
forced  her  way  through  until  the  paddle  wheels  struck 
the  cribwork,  and  she  did  not  bring  up  or  stop  her 
progress  until  about  one-half  of  her  length  was  laid  on 
the  pier,  and  the  ends  of  the  vessel  hanging  over  the  sides 
of  the  cribwork.  Her  port  water  w^heel  was  badly 
damaged,  its  shaft  forced  two  feet  aft  from  its  proper 
position,  with  the  crank  pin  and  main  pillow  block 
broken.  There  were  one  or  two  planks  started  on  the 
port  side,  but  not  of  sufficient  damage  to  take  her  out  on 
the  drydock.  The  vessel  wras  relieved  from  her  dan- 
gerous situation  at  the  next  flood  tide.  The  dock  had 
been  damaged  by  ice  two  years  before  this  occurrence, 
and  wras  partly  overflowed  at  high  water.  The  tidal  con- 
ditions at  New  York  this  morning  were  low  water  at  5 
a.  m.,  so  the  vessel  was  running  with  a  favorable  ebb  tide, 
and  it  was  on  the  last  hour  of  that  tide  when  she  struck 
the  pier.  This  vessel  was  231  feet  long  originally,  and  it 
is  believed  she  was  lengthened  a  few  feet  when  state- 
rooms were  added,  drew  about  six  feet  of  water,  and  was 
twenty-two  years  old  at  the  time.  Her  main  shaft  was 
located  about  95  feet  aft  of  the  stem  of  the  vessel.  Tak- 
ing into  consideration  the  age  of  the  vessel,  and  the 
manner  of  her  striking  the  cribwork  at  such  an  angle  as 
to  bring  all  the  strain  on  the  port  side  of  the  vessel,  it  is 
a  wronder  that  she  was  not  irreparably  damaged.  It 
proved  that  she  was  still  a  sound  and  strong  river  vessel, 
even  with  her  years  of  service.  She  was  employed  on  the 
river  until  1881,  when  retired  after  thirty-five  years  of 


102  NEiW   ERA   IN    SHIPBUILDING. 

service.  There  were  material  differences  between  these 
two  cases  that  no  doubt  affected  the  result.  .The  'Em- 
pire' was  a  new  vessel,  and  ran  into  a  dock  that  was  just 
about  completed.  The  'Thomas  Powell"  was  then 
twenty-two  years  old,  although  in  as  good  condition  as 
any  wooden  vessel  of  her  age:  and  ran  into  a  dock  that 
had  been  built  for  several  years,  and  was  then  in  a  partly 
dismantled  condition.  What  the  result  would  have  been 
had  the  vessel  struck  a  more  substantial  pier  under 
similar  conditions  is  very  problematical." 

The  first  steamships  built  at  New  York,  if  not  in  the 
United  States,  were  the  "Lion"  and  the  "Eagle"  in  1841 
by  Jacob  Bell  for  the  Spanish  government.  This  takes  no 
account  of  the  "Robert  Fulton"  of  1819.  The  next  year 
William  H.  Brown  built  for  the  Russian  government  the 
"Kamsehatka,"  a  side  wheel  vessel  of  over  200  feer  long 
for  naval  purposes.  Then  followed  our  domestic  vessels 
just  noted.  Up  to  and  including  1850  there  had  been 
constructed  at  New  York  38  steamships:  William  H. 
Brown  building  nine,  William  H.  Webb  building  eight, 
Westervelt  &  Mackay  building  eight,  Jacob  Bell, 
Jeremiah  Simonson,  Thomas  Collyer,  Smith  £  Demon 
and  Perrine,  Patterson  &  Stack  the  remainder. 

The  only  other  fire  in  a  New  York  shipyard  that  was 
considered  of  much  moment  after  that  at  Adam  & 
Noah  Brown's  yard  in  1824,  was  one  that  occurred  at 
William  H.  Webb's  yard  on  April  8,  1848,  about  ten 
o'clock  at  night.  It  started  in  a  stable  next  to  the  office 
of  the  yard  that  was  located  on  Lewis  street  near  6th 
street.  The  flames  spread  rapidly  from  several  points, 
and  before  the  fire  department  could  become  active  on 
the  scene  the  flames  had  spread  to  the  adjoining  mold 
loft  and  the  office,  the  former  containing  many  old  and 
valuable  patterns  and  molds,  and  several  historically 
valuable  models.  The  fire  also  extended  through  its  close 
proximity  in  the  buildings  to  the  Steamship  "Panama" 
then  on  the  stocks  and  nearly  ready  for  launching  in  a 


NEW   ERA   IX   SHIPBUILDING. 


103 


few  days,  that  was  somewhat  damaged,  .alid  required 
some  rebuilding  of  a  minor  character  before  it  was  ready 
to  launch.  The  fire  department  had  to  use  great  efforts 
on  this  vessel  to  save  it  from  entire  destruction,  being 
ably  assisted  by  the  many  employees  of  the  several  ship- 
yards in  the  vicinity  who  had  come  at  the  first  call.  There 
was  also  a  large  quantity  of  valuable  timber  that  was 
lying  near  the  vessel,  some  finished  and  some  unfinished, 
and  intended  to  be  used  on  vessels  then  under  construe- 


\     \ 


• 


CLIPPER  SHIP  ''CHALLENGE." 
Built  by  William  H.  Webb  1851. 

tion  in  the  yard,  that  was  destroyed  by  the  flames.  The 
books  and  papers  in  the  office  were  mostly  all  saved  from 
the  flames.  The  fire  was  believed  to  have  been  the  work 
of  an  incendiary.  During  the  fire  a  number  of  persons 
got  on  a  workshed  that  covered  the  sawpit,  to  have  a 
better  view  of  the  fire,  and  from  the  great  weight  on  the 
roof  the  supports  gave  way,  and  all  those  on  the  roof 
were  precipitated  with  a  great  crash  of  timbers  into  the 
sawpit  below.  Several  persons  had  their  limbs  broken 


104  NEW   ERA   IX    SHIPBUILDING. 

and  others  were  more  or  less  injured,  and  one  died  from 
internal  injuries.  This  fire  was  the  occasion  when  the 
owner  of  the  shipyard  was  asked  by  one  of  the  fire  offi- 
cials where  the  fire  department  could  be  of  the  most 
service  at  the  time,  and  Mr.  Webb  told  them,  "if  you  can 
save  my  steam  chest  you  will  help  me  most." 

The  conditions  existing  at  this  period  were  the  re- 
sults of  the  many  changes  that  had  occurred  in  the  last 
decade.  Some  of  the  shipbuilders  had  broken  loose  from 
the  practice  of  the  past,  and  taking  lessons  from  their  ex- 
perience had  made  changes  in  the  forms  of  their  new 
vessels  that  were  in  many  cases  of  much  advantage  to  the 
owners.  We  must  remember  that  at  this  period,  though 
no  more  than  at  an  earlier  one,  it  was  running  counter  to 
old  customs  to  propose  any  radical  changes,  let  alone  to 
carry  them  into  effect,  in  any  business  or  profession  even 
though  it  promised  much  improvement.  There  were 
those  of  our  naval  architects  at  this  period  who  were  in 
the  front  rank  of  their  profession,  and  the  general  form 
of  vessel  they  approved  for  a  given  service  have  been  but 
little  changed  to  this  day.  An  English  naval  architect  at 
this  time  said:  "It  seems  now  to  be  admitted  in  Europe 
and  in  America,  that  if  a  shipbuilder  wished  to  have  a 
very  easy  and  fast  going  ship,  he  must  give  her  bow  not 
the  round,  convex  line  which  was  formerly  adopted,  but 
a  fine,  long,  hollow  line.  In  this  consists  the  great  revo- 
lution of  the  last  twenty  years.  Formerly  the  broadest 
part  of  a  vessel  was  one-third  part  from  the  bow:  now  it 
is  one-third  part  from  the  stern.  This  is  the  principle  on 
which  the  American  and  English  clipper  ships  are  built." 
The  hollow  entrance  water  lines  were  first  used  in  this 
country  by  Robert  L.  Stevens  in  the  early  '80s,  on  his 
Hudson  river  steamboats.  There  were  some  of  our  well- 
known  New  York  shipbuilders,  so  wedded  to  their  old 
theories  of  design,  that  after  1850  they  constructed  clip- 
per ships  having  the  broadest  part  of  the  vessel  one-third 


NEW   ERA   IX   SHIPBUILDING.  105 

the  length  from  the  stem,  like  the  old  style  packet  ships, 
but  with  finer  entrance  lines. 

By  1848  there  was  seen  to  be  a  demand  for  increased 
dry-dock  facilities  in  this  city  for  large  vessels  for  re- 
pairs and  inspection,  caused  by  the  larger  vessels,  both 
steam  and  sail,  building  at  that  time.  The  Balance  Dry 
Dock  was  the  patents  of  John  S.  Gilbert  of  New  York  of 
March  25  and  May  12,  1840.  The  first  dock  built  on  this 
principle  was  a  small  one  of  110  feet  long  by  45  feet  wide 
in*1841,  and  was  located  at  first  on  the  west  side  of  the 


S    S.   "ADRIATIC"   OX  BALAXCE   DRY   DOCK. 

city.  *  The  New  York  Balance  Dock  Company  was  incor- 
porated April  18,  1848,  and  they  had  built  a  dock  210 
feet  long.  The  "Big"  Balance  Dry  Dock  was  built  by 
William  H.  Webb  in  Williamsburg  in  October,  1854. 
The  principal  dimensions  were  325  feet  long,  99  feet 
breadth,  38^  feet  deep.  There  were  twelve  pumps 
operated  by  two  horizontal  engines,  one  on  each  side  of 
dock,  and  two  large  locomotive  boilers  furnishing  steam 
for  the  latter.  "On  each  side  of  the  dock,  about  six  feet 
within  the  outer  timbers,  and  extending  from  the  bottom 
to  top  of  dock,  a  very  heavy  and  strong  longitudinal 


106  XEW    ERA   IX   SHIPBUILDING. 

truss  or  hog  frame,  formed  of  large  uprights,  top  and 
and  bottom  chords  and  large  iron  bars  crossing  each 
other  diagonally,  the  whole  being  strongly  secured  to  the 
bottom  of  dock,  cross  trusses,  diagonal  braces,  and  top 
deck  frame.  This  hog  frame  is  planked  on  the  inside, 
thus  forming  water  tight  tanks  the  whole  length  of  the 
dock,  on  each  side  and  bottom."  This  dock  cost  about 
$175,000  to  build/  The  machinery  was  constructed  by 
Mott  &  Ayres,  machine  builders  of  West  26th  street,  New 
York  City,  who  built  about  the  same  period  two  or  three 
iron  hull  steamboats  for  South  America.  *  This  is  the 
dry  dock  that  was  sold  to  the  Erie  Basin  Dry  Dock 
Company  about  1890.  In  1852  the  United  States  Navy 
department  had  four  floating  dry  docks,  a  balance  dock 
of  350  feet  long  at  Portsmouth  navy  yard,  and  a  dupli- 
cate of  this  dock  at  the  Pensacola  navy  yard,  a  sectional 
dock  of  9  sections  at  the  Philadelphia  navy  yard,  and  a 
sectional  dock  of  10  sections  underway  at  San  Francisco, 
Cal.  There  was  a  floating  box  dock  to  take  up  vessels  of 
not  more  than  500  tons  at  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  as  early  as  1831. 
This  dock  was  fitted  with  four  pumps  that  were  operated 
by  a  steam  engine.  There  were  two  of  these  docks  at  the 
same  city  in  1836. 

The  "heaving  down"  process  is  thus  referred  to  by  an 
authority  as  late  as  1851 :  "The  rapidity,  safety  and  ease 
with  which  caulking  and  sheathing  are  now  done  con- 
trasts strongly  with  the  practice  years  since  in  vogue, 
and  only  completely  discontinued  within  the  last  fifteen 
years,  of  heaving  down  vessels  for  this  purpose  by  main 
force  upon  the  beach  occupying  the  space  covered  by  our 
whole  upper  line  of  docks  on  the  East  river.  This  was 
performed  at  high  water  by  fastening  tackles  from  the 
head  of  a  vessel  mast,  itself  secured  by  heavy  braces  to 
heavy  blocks  and  falls  in  the  dock,  until  the  keel  of  the 
vessel  came  out  of  the  water,  when  on  the  succeeding  tide 
she  was  thrown  over.  Previous  to  the  construction  of  the 
United  States  Dry  Docks  even  the  largest  government 
vessels  were  treated  in  the  same  rough  manner." 


OF    THE 

UNIVERSITY 


CHAPTER  VII. 

LAUNCHING    OF    VESSELS    AND    LAUNCHING   DISASTERS    --   DRY 
DOCK  ACCIDENTS. 

HE  launch  of  a  large  vessel,  or  of  one  con- 
structed for  some  prominent  transportation 
line,  either  a  sailing  vessel  or  a  steam  vessel, 
was  sure  to  bring  together  at  the  shipyard  a 
large  number  of  people  from  all  parts  of  the 
city,  and  from  the  immediate  vicinity,  to  witness  the 
launch,  for  an  event  of  that  kind  was  most  always  an 
item  of  news,  especially  in  the  later  days,  in  our  daily 
journals  for  a  few  days  before  the  launch,  and  was 
always  attended  by  many  people  as  one  of  the  free  shows 
and  entertainments  of  that  period.  After  the  successful 
launching  of  the  vessel  into  her  native  element  there  was 
always  a  collation  spread  by  the  builders  of  the  vessel 
then  launched,  in  the  mold  loft  of  the  shipyard,  where 
the  invited  guests  of  the  builders,  and  those  of  the 
owners  of  the  vessel,  were  invited  to  partake  of  their  hos- 
pitality for  the  occasion.  The  employees  of  the  yard  were 
not  forgotten  on  such  occasions  by  their  employer  and 
the  owners  of  the  vessel,  for  their  good  work  in  the 
launching  of  the  vessel  was  recognized  by  those  directly 
interested  in  providing  a  bountiful  supply  of  the  substan- 
tial food  of  life  topped  off  with  rum  punch,  and  freedom 
from  work  for  the  remainder  of  the  day;  and  on  some 
occasions  a  few  of  them  would  be  incapable  of  further 
service  at  their  daily  labor  for  the  remainder  of  the  day, 
if  it  had  been  found  necessary. 

There  has  always  been  a  great  freedom  from  acci: 
dents  in  launching  of  vessels  in  this  city,  though  the 
builders  always  knew  there  was  an  element  of  risk  they 
must  assume  in  taking  a  contract  through  the  launching 


108  DRY    DOCK   ACCIDENTS. 

of  the  vessel.  That  the  early  builders  had  their  trials, 
and  it  may  be  some  accidents  in  launching  their  vessels 
is  hardly  to  be  doubted,  but  the  record  of  them  is  missing. 
The  first  occasion  where  there  was  an  error  of  judgment 
in  the  launching  of  a  vessel  seems  to  have  been  in  April, 
1842,  when  the  ship  "Union"  of  133'x30'xl9'  built  by 
Jabez  Williams  at  foot  7th  street  for  the  New  York 
and  New  Orleans  trade,  was  launched  full  rigged,  and 
just  as  she  took  an  even  keel  in  the  water,  careened  over 
on  her  beam  ends,  in  consequence  of  too  small  amount  of 
ballast,  under  the  launching  conditions.  She  was  soon 
righted  without  much  injury,  and  at  a  small  cost  of  re- 
pairs to  the  builders.  There  were  a  few  similar  cases  to 
this  in  later  years,  but  they  did  not  attract  much  atten- 
tion at  "the  time.  The  most  serious  case  that  happened 
was  that  of  the  attempted  launching  of  the  ship  "Sweep- 
stakes," built  by  Westervelt  &  Mackay,  of  216'x41'x22',  on 
June  18,  1853,  for  the  California  trade.  In  sliding  down 
the  ways  the  vessel  moved  about  half  her  length  into  the 
water  when  she  suddenly  stopped  her  onward  movement, 
then  careened  over  and  struck  the  staging  alongside  and 
around  the  stern  of  the  clipper  ship  "Kathay,"  then  under 
construction  in  the  yard,  which  broke  down  and  precipi- 
tated a  large  number  of  spectators  into  the  water,  who 
had  taken  advantage  of  the  choice  situation  for  a  good 
view  of  the  launch,  but  they  were  all  recovered  during 
the  excitement  of  the  unusual  occasion,  without  anything 
much  more  serious  than  a  good  ducking  and  fright. 
Steam  tugs  were  at  once  brought  into  service  to  en- 
deavor to  pull  the  vessel  from  her  awkward  and  dan- 
gerous situation,  but  so  firmly  imbedded  was  the  vessel 
that  all  the  hawsers  used  in  the  work  were  broken,  as 
well  as  the  timber  heads  in  the  vessel  were  torn  out  by 
the  strain  put  upon  them.  They  now  resorted  to  the  use 
of  a  floating  derrick,  fastening  ropes  around  the  stern  of 
the  vessel  and  to  the  derrick  arm,  thus  taking  up  part  of 
the  strain  the  vessel  was  laboring  under  between  the 


DRY  DOCK  ACCIDENTS.  109 

shore  and  the  floating  end.  They  propped  the  shore  end 
up  by  blocking  again  to  try  and  launch  her  at  the  next 
high  tide,  but  were  not  successful  in  getting  her  off.  An- 
other floating  derrick  was  added  to  give  further  relief  to 
the  vessel.  She  lay  in  this  dangerous  situation  for  about 
seventy-six  hours,  when  a  more  than  usual  high  tide,  and 
the  continual  work  that  had  been  done  under  the  shore 
end  of  vessel,  brought  relief  to  the  vessel  and  she  was 
safely  set  afloat.  She  was  in  a  few  days  taken  to  the 
Brooklyn  navy  yard  dry  dock  for  inspection  and  copper- 
ing her  bottom,  wrhere  she  remained  for  eight  days.  The 
vessel  was  badly  strained  in  her  top  sides  and  joiner 
work,  and  it  cost  the  builders  all  of  twenty  thousand  dol- 
lars for  the  extra  expenses  of  launching  and  repairs  to 
the  vessel.  The  cause  was  attributed  by  some  to  the  sink- 
ing of  the  ground  under  the  ways  after  the  vessel  had 
started  her  launching  movement.  In  the  light  of  further 
experience  and  a  more  close  study  of  the  conditions  sur- 
rounding the  launching  of  a  vessel  by  our  naval  architects, 
it  would  seem  as  though  this  vessel  was  passing  through 
the  "tipping"  process  when  the  keel  struck  the  shore,  that 
had  not  been  sufficiently  cleaned  between  the  ways.  The 
vessel  was  brought  up  very  suddenly  and  careened  over 
against  the  vessel  that  was  building  at  its  side.  The 
builders  had  been  advised  of  the  small  clearance  there 
would  be  for  the  keel  of  the  vessel  during  the  placing  of 
the  launching  ways,  but  they  thought  "she  will  cut  her 
way  through,"  and  took  the  chances. 

It  would  seem  from  all  human  calculations  that 
these  builders  had  furnished  their  share  of  experiment 
and  cost  of  repairs,  for  themselves  and  others  to  profit 
by  for  some  time,  in  the  accident  to  the  "Sweepstakes." 
But  not  so:  and  in  fact  before  the  latter  vessel  had  been 
completed  after  her  launching,  the  vessel  that  lay  along- 
side the  "Sweepstakes"  when  launched,  remained  on  the 
ways  three  or  four  days  after  the  first  effort  to  put  her 
overboard.  The  clipper  ship  "Kathay"  built  for  the  Cali- 


110  DRY   DOCK   ACCIDENTS. 

fornia  trade  was  to  have  been  launched  on  August 
11,  1853,  but  all  efforts  proved  unavailing  at  the  time 
in  placing  the  vessel  overboard.  Powerful  levers  and 
jack  screws  were  applied  to  the  ways,  but  the  vessel  re- 
fused to  move.  The  launching  ways  were  relaid  and  the 
tallow  renewed,  and  after  the  builder  had  been  about 
eighty  hours  making  endeavors  to  get  the  vessel  afloat 
she  was  successfully  launched.  The  extremely  high  tem- 
perature of  the  atmosphere  had  melted  the  tallow  be- 
tween the  ways. 

In  the  launching  of  the  steamboat  "New  World"  for 
the  Peoples'  line  from  New  York  to  Albany  in  August, 
1848,  at  William  H.  Brown's  shipyard,  owing  to  the  im- 
proper placing  of  the  ways  and  the  effect  of  the  high 
atmospheric  temperature  upon  the  tallow  on  the  launch- 
ing ways,  the  first  efforts  to  launch  the  vessel  were  un- 
availing. The  vessel  moved  about  forty  feet  and  then 
came  to  a  stand,  and  all  efforts  to  move  her  were  ineffec- 
tual at  the  time,  even  with  the  services  of  the  two  tug- 
boats. The  smoke  from  the  friction  of  the  upper  and 
lower  ways  told  them  one  cause  of  the  trouble.  The 
vessel  was  blocked  up,  the  ways  relaid  with  a  tallow  mix- 
ture, and  after  fifty  hours  in  that  situation  was  at  last 
successfully  launched.  Lawrence  &  Sneeden  met  with 
a  similar  experience  in  September,  1850,  in  trying  to 
launch  the  steamship  "North  America"  for  the  opposition 
line  on  the  Pacific  Ocean  to  California.  The  vessel  was 
in  a  similar  situation  for  about  forty-eight  hours  before 
being  placed  overboard.  The  "ribbon"  on  the  ways  has 
sometimes  given  trouble  in  the  launching  of  a  vessel. 

The  whale  ship  "Niagara"  of  700  tons,  130'x30'xl8' 
built  by  Smith  and  Demon  for  owners  at  Fairhaven, 
Mass.,  was  launched  on  July  30,  1851,  careened  over  just 
as  she  left  the  ways,  but  was  eventually  hauled  up  to  the 
dock  and  made  fast,  and  righted  by  the  use  of  block  and 
fall  similar  to  the  heaving  down  process.  There  Avas  not 
much  damage  done  to  the  vessel.  In  April  1854,  William 


DRY   DOCK   ACCIDENTS.  Ill 

Perrine  launched  from  his  yard  at  Williamsburg  the  ship 
"Henry  Harbeck"  of  800  tons.  The  vessel  went  off  the 
ways  as  any  well  disposed  vessel  should,  but  in  conse- 
quence of  ballast  shifting  in  the  vessel  during  its  down- 
ward course  on  the  ways,  she  careened  over  on  her  beam 
ends  when  fully  afloat,  and  swinging  around  from  the 
straight  path  of  the  ways  struck  an  adjacent  dock,  carry- 
ing away  a  large  portion  of  her  main  rail  and  shaking 
up  the  guests  who  were  on  board  the  vessel  for  the 
launch,  with  no  broken  bones  but  an  abundance  of  fright 
for  a  time. 

The '"Big"  Balance  Dry  Dock  built  by  William  H. 
Webb  and  finished  in  October,  1854,  was  not  put  afloat 
on  the  day  set  for  launching,  for  when  the  blocks  had 
been  knocked  away,  and  the  structure  bore  its  weight  on 
the  launching  ways  the  dock  refused  to  move.  After 
blocking  up  the  structure  again  preparations  were  made 
for  rigging  up  battering  rams  and  applying  jack  screws 
to  the  seventeen  launching  ways,  and  the  next  morning  a 
vigorous  application  of  these  tools  started  the  dock  to- 
ward her  natural  element,  and  a  successful  launch  of  the 
dock  was  the  result.  Freezing  of  the  tallow  in  the  ways 
was  not  the  cause  of  the  trouble  in  this  case,  as  the  tem- 
perature of  the  air  was  not  so  low  as  to  produce  that  re- 
sult, the  per  cent,  of  grade  to  the  launching  ways  being 
too  low  for  the  size  of  structure,  and  number  of  ways  is 
considered  to  have  been  the  cause. 

The  firm  of  Westervelt  &  Mackey  was  financially 
embarrassed  about  1856,  but  the  business  was  continued 
at  the  old  yard  by-S.  G.  Bogert  in  their  interest.  They 
seem  unfortunate  in  launching  one  of  their  vessels  once 
more,  for  on  April  8,  1857,  the  steamship  "Queen  of  the 
Pacific''  of  3,000  tons  for  Charles  Morgan  &  Sons  was 
hung  up  on  the  ways  in  consequence  of  the  ways  being  of 
an  insufficient  length  and  improperly  laid.  The  bilge  of 
the  vessel  cut  through  the  ground  to  such  a  depth  after 
moving  a  portion  of  the  distance  that  it  held  her  fast  on 


112  DRY   DOCK   ACCIDENTS. 

the  ways.  A  sufficient  quantity  of  earth  was  removed  so- 
that  the  vessel  started  again  on  the  ways,  but  when  not 
one  half  the  length  of  the  vessel  was  afloat  she  stopped 
her  onward  movement  again.  They  now  had  to  resort  to- 
extreme  measure  to  extricate  the  vessel  from  her  em- 
barrassing situation.  To  get  her  afloat  it  became  neces- 
sary to  support  the  bow  of  the  vessel  with  a  boom  der- 
rick, clear  the  earth  from  around  the  keel  into  which  it 
had  settled,  repair  the  ways  and  give  them  additional 
strength,  and  with  jack  screws  to  raise  the  after  part  of 
the  vessel  for  blocking.  With  the  use  of  jack  screws  and 
several  tug  boats  they  got  the  vessel  afloat  after  being  in 
that  perilous  situation  for  about  87  hours.  This  vessel 
never  went  into  service  for  her  original  owner,  but  was 
sold  about  two  years  later  to  Commodore  Vanderbilt  and 
named  "Ocean  Queen." 

Even  the  builders  of  later  years  are  not  free  from 
such  trials,  for  the  steamer  "Pilgrim"  of  the  Fall  River 
line,  built  by  the  Delaware  River  Iron  and  Shipbuilding 
Company  was  hung  up  on  the  ways  after  moving  about 
150  feet  on  July  13,  1882.  Three  attempts  were  then 
made  to  launch  the  vessel,  but  they  were  unsuccessful- 
The  ways  were  then  removed  from  their  places,  fresh  tal- 
low placed  between  them,  and  then  put  back  in  their 
proper  places,  and  an  extra  set  of  ways  placed  under  the 
bilges.  An  engine  was  also  fitted  and  fastened  on  board 
the  vessel  and  connected  with  anchors  in  the  river  to  aid 
in  starting  the  vessel,  with  four  hydraulic  pumps.  With 
all  this  preparation  it  was  more  than  a  week  after  the  in- 
tended launching  before  the  vessel  was  overboard.  From 
the  high  atmospheric  temperature,  the  weight  of  the 
vessel  had  pressed  out  and  burned  the  tallow  from  the 
ways. 

While  some  of  our  American  shipbuilders  may  think 
they  have  had  the  limit  of  trials  placed  in  their  hands  at 
times,  if  they  will  look  up  the  launching  of  the  steamship 
"Daphne"  in  July,  1883,  they  will  find  a  disaster  that 


DRY   DOCK   ACCIDENTS.  113 

must  have  tried  the  builders  to  the  limit,  even  though  it 
may  be  said  the  design  of  the  vessel  had  been  condemned 
for  some  time.  The  vessel  was  built  by  Stephen  &  Sons 
of  Glasgow,  Scotland,  and  was  175'x25'xl3'6",  and 
when  launched  had  not  moved  more  than  her  own  length 
from  the  shore  when  she  careened  over  on  her  port  side, 
and  sank  in  less  than  three  minutes,  carrying  down  one 
hundred  or  more  men  to  their  death  by  drowning.  Faulty 
design  was  given  as  the  cause  of  the  disaster. 

Of  accidents  to  vessels  while  in  the  dock  for  inspec- 
tion and  repair  there  have  been  but  very  few  cases  indeed 
considering  the  large  number  of  vessels  taken  out  of  the 
water,  and  such  cases  as  there  is  any  record  of  is  not  more 
than  three  decades  ago.     The  first  was  of  the  iron  hull 
steamship  "Crescent  City"  x  "Massachusetts,"  while  being 
raised  in  the  sectional  dock  at  foot  of  Clinton  street  on 
March  28,  1878.    The  dock  had  been  raised  not  one  half 
its  required  height,  with  the  vessel  in  place  to  fully  take 
the  blocks  at  the  proper  time,  when  a  crash  came  and  the 
vessel  listed  over  to  the  starboard  side.     The  weight  of 
the  vessel  fell  with  great  force  on  the  light  frame  struc- 
ture of  the  upper  work  of  the  dock  and  crushed  a  large 
portion  of  one  side.    The  vessel  then  slowly  righted  her- 
self and  fell  to  the  portside.    The  dock  slowly  sank  and 
left  the   vessel   afloat.     The   next   day  the   vessel   was 
placed  on  a  larger  sectional  dock,  where  she  should  have 
been  placed  at  first,  as  the  former  was  too  small  and  light 
for  a  vessel  of  the  dimensions  of  the  "Crescent  City."    In 
October  1881,  or  more  than  three  years  later  the  same 
vessel  went  through  a  somewhat  similar  experience  with 
the  exception  that  in  the  first  instance  there  were  no  per- 
sons injured,  while  in  the  second  accident  there  was  one 
man  killed  and  two  badly  injured.    This  time  the  vessel 
was  coming  out  of  the  dock,  the  structure  having  been 
sunk  and  the  vessel  floated,  and  while  waiting  for  the 
tugs  the  tide  had  fallen  so  much  that  it  was  feared  the 
keel  of  the  vessel  would  touch  the  floor  of  the  dock,  and 


114  DRY   DOCK   ACCIDENTS. 

those  in  charge  were  apprehensive  that  she  might  under 
those  conditions  list  over,  so  they  started  to  pump  up  the 
dock  and  block  up  the  vessel,  and  it  was  while  this  was 
being  done  that  she  careened  over.  As  the  tide  rose  the 
vessel  righted  and  she  was  taken  out  of  the  dock  without 
any  further  trouble.  The  dock  was  strained,  but  the 
vessel  had  but  three  or  four  large  dents  in  her  plating 
where  she  lay  on  some  of  the  blocks. 

The  next  mishap  or  accident  was  on  the  "Big"  Balance 
dry  dock  on  May  18,  1882,  while  taking  up  the  steamboat 
"City  of  Bosto*n"  of  the  Norwich  and  New  York  Steam- 
boat Company  and  was  of  a  very  serious  character  to  the 
vessel.  The  vessel  fell  as  the  dock  was  being  raised  and 
its  floor  well  cleared  above  the  water.  As  it  was  unlike 
in  many  features  any  other  case  of  which  there  appears 
any  record,  a  few  extracts  from  the  judges'  opinion  in  the 
case  throws  a  flood  of  light  on  the  details.  "The  boat 
was  dismantled.  Her  walking  beam  was  out;  much  of  her 
engine  was  out  of  position,  and  the  known  object  of 
having  her  raised  upon  the  dock  was  to  bolt  down  her  en- 
gine keelsons.  *  *  *  The  elevation  of  the  boat  from 
the  floor  of  the  dock  called  for  by  the  contract  was 
unusual.  No  boat  of  the  size  of  the  'City  of  Boston'  had 
ever  before  been  blocked  to  such  a  height  upon  this,  nor, 
as  far  as  it  appears,  upon  any  other  floating  dock.  The 
boat  to  be  sufficiently  elevated  above  the  floor  of  the  dock 
to  enable  bolts  seven  feet  long  to  be  passed  up  through 
the  bottom  and  engine  keelsons  without  being  bent.  *  *  *. 
Instead  of  adopting  this  precaution  known  to  be 
sufficient  to  remove  all  danger  of  falling,  the  defendants 
adopted  a  method  of  arranging  the  blocks  necessarily  in- 
volving a  risk  of  the  vessels  falling,  and  endeavored  to 
diminish  the  risk  by  'dogging'  the  blocks,  piled  single  and 
by,  for  the  first  time  in  the  use  of  this  dock,  putting  braces 
between  the  blocking.  So  far  as  the  evidence  discloses  the 
decision  to  pile  the  blocks  single  was  not  arrived  at  be- 
cause of  any  difficulty  or  expense  attendant  upon  'crib- 


116  DRY   DOCK  ACCIDENTS. 

bing'  the  blocks,  nor  because  single  blocking  secured  by 
dogs  and  braces  was  supposed  to  be  more  secure  than 
cribbing.  The  only  reason  for  the  course  pursued,  sug- 
gested to  me  by  the  testimony  is,  that  the  cribbing  would 
require  a  greater  number  of  blocks  than  those  at  hand. 
But  whether  impelled  by  this  or  some  better  one,  the  fact 
remains,  that  between  two  methods  of  constructing  the 
blocking  open  to  be  adopted  the  defendants  chose  the  one 
involving  risk,  as  against  one  that  would  have  involved 
no  risk.  This  was  negligence,  and  the  negligence  that 
caused  the  disaster.  *  *  *  Upon  the  evidence  the 
libellants  are  in  no  way  responsible  for  the  means  which 
the  defendants  adopted  to  give  the  boat  the  requisite 
elevation  from  the  floor  of  the  dock.  *  *  *  After  the 
'City  of  Boston'  fell  she  was  raised  by  the  defendants 
upon  the  dock  with  the  blocks  fore-and-aft  cribbed,  and 
then  she  was  raised  in  safety.  When  the  first  attempt  to 
raise  her  was  made,  however,  the  blocks  w^ere  not  cribbed, 
but  placed  one  upon  the  other,  single,  until  the  requisite 
height  was  reached.77  It  was  proved  that  there  was  a  sag 
in  the  dock,  so  that  when  raised  it  retained  fifteen  or 
twenty  inches  of  water  on  the  floor  in  the  deepest  part,  to 
which  the  judge  refers;  and  there  was  evidence  tending  to 
show  that  motion  was  imparted  to  this  w^ater  upon  the 
floor  during  the  raising  of  the  vessel.  "I  do  not  think  the 
inference  unwarranted  that  a  jar  was  given  to  the  dock 
sufficient  to  topple  the  boat  over,  as  she  was  blocked,  by 
some  movement  of  the  water  upon  the  floor  of  the  dock.'7 
The  hull  was  so  badly  injured  that  it  became  necessary 
to  put  in  very  nearly  a  whole  new  bottom  in  the  vessel, 
besides  renew  some  joiner  work  that  was  pretty  badly 
strained.  The  vessel  was  on  the  dock  about  five  weeks 
after  being  raised  the  second  time.  A  judgment  was 
found  against  the  dock  company  for  $76,291.31  that  some 
years  later  was  settled  for  about  $30,000.  At  the  time  of 
the  disaster  the  current  opinion  in  marine  circles  in  the 
city  was  that  the  superintendent  of  repairs  for  the  steam- 


DRY   DOCK  ACCIDENTS.  117 

boat  company  and  in  charge  of  the  work  was  responsible 
for  the  damage,  but  it  is  seen  by  the  judges'  opinion  that 
those  in  charge  of  the  dry  dock  were  solely  responsible. 

A  few  years  later  a  small  balance  dock  lying  at  the 
foot  26th  street,  Brooklyn,  in  August,  1887,  had  taken  up 
the  bark  "Maria  Louise'7  of  Palma  in  the  Canary  islands. 
This  vessel  careened  over  after  having  been  raised  several 
hours,  without  much  warning.  The  dock  took  a  list  from 
one  of  the  compartments  springing  a  serious  leak  at 
night.  The  vessel  received  much  damage  and  several  of 
the  crew  of  the  vessel  were  badly  injured. 

The  most  serious  accident  in  loss  of  life  and  injuries 
to  persons,  in  this  country  at  least,  was  that  which  befell 
the  army  transport  "Ingalls"  on  June  14,  1901,  while  be- 
ing taken  up  on  a  balance  dock  at  Erie  Basin,  Brooklyn, 
where  there  were  three  lives  lost  and  about  fifteen  in- 
jured, all  being  workmen  employed  on  the  vessel  at  the 
time.  The  vessel  was  almost  out  of  the  water  when  there 
was  a  crash,  the  vessel  went  over  and  with  such  momen- 
tum as  to  carry  the  dock  over  at  the  same  time  in  a  depth 
of  water  of  thirty  feet.  There  were  eighty  or  one  hundred 
men  at  work  on  the  vessel  at  the  time,  and  it  is  remark- 
able that  more  were  not  killed  and  injured  than  were  ac- 
counted for.  The  dock  was  an  old  one,  but  thought  to  be 
in  good  repair,  and  of  service  for  a  vessel  of  the  size  of 
the  "Ingalls."  There  was  a  weak  spot  in  the  dock,  or  im- 
proper blocking  of  the  vessel  that  was  never  fully  ac- 
counted for.  Was  there  a  sag  in  the  dock,  and  collection 
of  a  body  of  water  on  the  floor  at  the  time,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  "City  of  Boston"?  It  has  been  referred  to  that 
the  same  expert  foreman  who  was  in  charge  of  the  "Big" 
balance  dock  when  raising  the  "City  of  Boston"  should 
have  been  in  control  of  the  balance  dock  that  was  raising 
the  transport  "Ingalls."  There  was  an  investigation 
made  of  this  accident  by  a  board  of  experts  for  the  War 
department,  but  their  report  cannot  be  obtained. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

HIGH  WATER  IN  WOODEN  SHIPBUILDING.— YACHT     "AMERICA."— 
RECORD  OF  PROMINENT  AMERICAN  CLIPPER  SHIPS. 

HE  increase  in  the  demand  on  the  local  ship- 
builders for  vessels  of  every  type,  both  steam 
and  sail,  from  1850  to  1855  was  something 
phenomenal.  The  former  date  was  when  the 
California  gold  excitement  was  at  its  height, 
and  the  builders  were  unable  to  complete  the  vessels  fast 
enough  for  the  business  of  the  moment,  in  carrying  pas- 
sengers and  freight  to  the  Pacific  coast.  The  shipyards 
were  run  under  high  pressure,  some  yards  working  over- 
time, for  this  was  a  boom  period  in  wooden  shipbuilding.^ 
Many  of  the  proprietors  of  the  yards  made  large  profits 
from  the  contracts  they  executed,  and  wisely  invested 
them,  while  there  were  a  few  who  became  interested  in 
marine  speculations,  particularly  on  the  Pacific  coast, 
that  left  them  in  a  weak  financial  condition  in  the  end. 

There  were  several  steam  vessels  that  left  New  York 
for  the  Pacific  coast  at  this  time,  a  few  just  completed  and 
some  that  had  seen  service,  that  were  unfitted  for  such  a 
long  and  tempestuous  voyage.  Some  were  certainly  for- 
tunate in  ever  arriving  at  their  destination.  The  "New 
World,"  a  beam  engine  boat  of  216  feet  long  by  27  feet  by 
10^  feet  just  from  the  builders'  hands,  was  sent  out  in 
February,  1850:  the  "Senator"  that  had  been  on  the 
coast  of  Maine,  and  was  better  adapted  for  the  voyage 
than  some  of  the  other  vessels;  the  "Antelope,"  a  com- 
paratively new  vessel  that  had  seen  service  in  New  York 
bay,  and  the  "Confidence,"  another  New  York  bay  vessel, 
neither  one  as  large  as  the  "New  World,"  and  never  de- 
signed for  such  heavy  Aveather  as  liable  to  be  found  on 
such  a  voyage.  The  greatest  risk  would  seem  to  have 


120  HIGH  WATER  IN   WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING. 

been  taken  in  sending  out  the  "Wilson  G.  Hunt,"  a  small 
river  boat  of  165  feet  long  that  had  run  in  the  upper  bay, 
in  March  1850.  In  six  days  after  leaving  port  she  en- 
countered a  gale,  narrowly  escaped  foundering,  losing  her 
foremast,  and  her  entire  upper  works  being  wholly 
wrecked  by  the  storm.  She  put  into  St.  Georges,  Ber- 
muda islands,  for  repairs,  and  subsequently  proceeded  on 
her  voyage.  It  was  not  an  excursion  for  the  crew  of  that 
vessel  on  the  voyage  to  San  Francisco.  The  most  unfor- 
tunate of  all  these  vessels  was  the  "Rhode  Island,"  which 
had  been  on  the  New  York  and  Providence  route,  and  had 
been  laid  aside  as  a  spare  boat.  She  was  sold  to  those 
interested  in  the  "New  World,"  and  refitted  as  well  as  the 
short  time  would  permit  for  the  voyage.  She  left  port 
January  25,  1850,  and  four  days  later  encountered  a  vio- 
lent gale.  After  laboring  in  the  heavy  sea  for  twelve 
hours  she  began  to  leak  badly,  her  engine,  one  of  the 
crosshead  style,  refused  to  work,  while  her  steering  gear 
became  deranged,  she  was  at  the  mercy  of  the  waves  and 
sank  a  few  hours  later.  Twelve  of  the  passengers  and 
crew  escaped  in  a  small  boat  to  a  schooner  that  was 
near  by  at  the  time,  but  thirty -two  lives  were  lost  with  the 
vessel.  The  vessel  when  leaving  port  was  loaded  down 
with  coal  and  provisions  so  that  her  freeboard  was  very 
small  for  a  vessel  on  such  a  voyage.  The  "W.  J.  Pease" 
that  had  been  the  pioneer  vessel  on  the  outside  line  be- 
tween New  York  and  Philadelphia,  also  left  about  the 
same  time,  and  two  New  York  tug  boats,  the  "Goliah" 
and  the  "D.  C.  Pell."  The  "Goliah"  was  a  large  Sandy 
Hook  tow  boat  but  two  years  old,  built  by  W.  H.  Webb, 
and  was  in  service  on  the  Pacific  coast  about  ten  years 
ago,  after  many  changes.  The  record  shows  that  the  "W. 
J.  Pease"  was  three  months  in  getting  well  toward  Cape 
Horn  when  compelled  to  return  to  Montevideo  in  distress 
in  June  1850,  where  the  vessel  was  repaired,  but  was  sub- 
sequently sold  and  run  on  the  Uruguay  river.  A  mate  to 
the  "New  World"  named  "New  York"  started  a  few 


HIGH  WATER   IN   WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING.  121 

months  later  than  the  former  vessel,  consumed  about  four 
months  in  getting  to  Kio  Janeiro  and  there  all  trace  of 
her  is  lost.  It  is  believed  she  returned  to  port  after  first 
starting  out,  for  repairs,  and  the  second  time  got  as  far  a& 
Brazil.  The  "Wilson  G.  Hunt"  seems  to  have  been  most 
unfortunate  by  detentions,  for  she  was  laid  up  at  Mon- 
tevideo for  near  three  months  for  a  crew,  and  at  other 
ports  for  repairs,  and  the  time  from  port  to  port  was  322 
days.  The  "Goliah"  was  279  dayson  the  voyage  after  many 
trials.  There  were  several  more  vessels  of  these  same 
types  that  left  other  Atlantic  ports  at  the  same  time,  and 
encountered  the  same  difficulties  and  dangers.  Several 
were  never  heard  from  after  leaving  the  home  port. 
Those  that  were  so  fortunate  as  to  arrive  at  their  destina- 
tion were  compelled  to  call  at  every  principal  port  on 
the  way  for  coal,  water,  provisions  and  repairs  to  the 
vessel,  and  in  many  cases  were  detained  by  the  illness  of 
the  crew  from  diseases  contracted  in  the  warm  climate, 
so  it  was  not  all  pleasure  that  was  their  portion  on  the 
voyage.  Very  few  instances  are  recorded  of  the 
machinery  of  the  vessels  being  seriously  disabled.  The 
expenses  for  repairs  and  detention  at  the  many  ports  on 
the  voyage  to  San  Francisco,  of  these  light-built  vessels- 
was  so  great  that  it  deterred  owners  from  sending  any 
more  of  that  class  of  vessels  under  their  own  steam.  In 
1852  three  or  more  large  river  steamboats  were  built  at 
New  York,  taken  apart  and  shipped  with  their  machinery 
to  San  Francisco,  where  they  were  re-erected  and  com- 
pleted for  service  in  the  waters  of  California. 

When  it  became  necessary  during  this  boom  period 
in  the  industry  to  make  room  for  the  laying  of  another 
keel,  the  local  shipyards  furnished  the  occasion  by  launch- 
ing what  was  complete  on  the  stocks  in  one-two  order,, 
and  in  one-two-three  order,  and  that  in  all  probability  has 
never  been  excelled,  nor  ever  equalled,  by  the  ship- 
builders of  any  nation.  This  it  is  fair  to  say  will  remain 
the  record.  And  what  is  of  additional  interest,  some  of 


122  HIGH   WATER   IX   WOODEN    SHIPBUILDING. 

the  vessels  were  so  far  completed  that  steam  was  on  the 
boilers  and  they  were  ready  for  their  trial  trips  as  soon  as 
they  were  overboard.  On  January  28,  1850,  William  H. 
Brown  launched  the  "Arctic"  of  the  Collin's  line,  the 
"New  World"  for  the  Pacific  coast  trade,  and  the  "Bos- 
ton" for  Sanford's  line  on  the  coast  of  Maine.  The  "New 
World". was  launched  first,  then  the  "Boston,"  and  then 
the  "Arctic,"  all  put  afloat  within  1^  hours.  This  was  a 
very  skillful  piece  of  work  considering  the  very  low  tem- 
perature of  the  atmosphere  and  the  liability  of  the  tallow 
on  the  ways  to  chill.  It  was  estimated  that  there  were 
twenty  thousand  people  to  see  the  launching  of  these 
vessels,  as  it  had  been  given  wide  advertisement  for  sev- 
eral da}Ts,  and  was  the  first  time  more  than  one  vessel  had 
been  launched  from  one  yard  in  a  day.  The  "New  World" 
was  launched  with  her  machinery  all  in  place  and  ready 
for  service,  as  was  shown  by  a  few  revolutions  of  her 
water  wheels  while  on  the  ways  prior  to  launching.  She 
started  on  her  trial  trip  in  less  than  one  half  an  hour  after 
being  put  overboard.  This  was  a  most  novel  feature  of 
the  occasion.  The  vessel  was  216'x27'xlO|'  with  a  beam 
engine  40  inches  by  11  feet.  It  was  not  many  days  before 
the  vessel  attracted  attention  from  a  different  cause. 
There  were  some  differences  regarding  the  vessel  between 
her  owners,  one  of  whom  was  the  builder,  and  the  vessel 
having  been  placed  in  the  sheriff's  hands,  the  builder  de- 
sired to  send  her  to  the  Pacific  coast.  The  officers  wined 
and  dined  the  law  officers  in  charge  of  the  vessel  who  per- 
mitted the  captain  to  make  a  "trial  trip"  down  the  bay, 
and  when  he  was  well  into  the  lower^foay  gave  them  the 
choice  of  going  to  California  with  him  or  he  would  send 
them  ashore  in  a  small  boat.  They  accepted  the  latter. 
It  was  a  well  planned  scheme  to  get  away  from  New 
York,  for  the  vessel  had  been  regularly  cleared  at  the  Cus- 
tom House  the  day  before.  She  made  as  good  time  as 
any  vessel  going  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  being  152  days  on 
the  voyage,  and  was  detained  as  little  on  the  way  by  coal- 


HIGH  WATER   IX   WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING.  123 

ing,  ma  king  repairs,  etc.,  as  any  vessel  at  the  time.  She 
passed  through  the  Straits  of  Magellan  about  the  middle 
of  April  in  30  hours  without  stopping  on  the  way,  being 
six  hours  less  time  than  it  had  been  made  before.*  Then 
the  steamship  "Baltic"  of  the  Collin's  line  of  New  York 
and  "Liverpool  steamships  was  launched  on  March  2, 
1850,  with  the  ship  "St.  Louis"  of  1050  tons  for  the  New 
York  and  New  Orleans  trade  from  Jacob  BelPs  shipyard 
at  Stantou  and  Houston  streets.  William  H.  Webb  also 
made  a  double  launch  on  June  10,  1850,  when  he  sent 
overboard  within  a  few  minutes  of  one  another  the  ship 
"Celestial"  for  the  China  trade  of  1200  tons,  and  the 
steamship  "Alabama"  for  the  New  York  and  Savannah 
line,  both  vessels  going  off  without  a  mishap  of  any  de- 
scription. The  next  year  William  H.  Webb  added  one 
more  to  the  list  by  the  triple  launch  on  January  21,  1851, 
by  putting  overboard  the  steamship  "Golden  Gate"  of 
3,000  tons  for  the  Pacific  mail  steamship  company's 
service  on  the  Pacific  ocean;  the  ship  "Isaac  Bell"  of  1485 
tons  for  Livingston's  line  of  Havre  packets:  and  the 
clipper  ship  "Gazelle"  of  1500  tons  for  Taylor  &  Merrill  in 
the  China  trade  on  the  Pacific  ocean. 

It  was  during  this  boom  period  that  NewT  York  ship- 
builders came  to  be  more  prominently  known  among  the 
maritime  nations  of  Europe  through  the  building  of  the 
yacht  "America."  There  appears  to  be  some  differences 
of  opinion  held  by  the  early  writers  of  the  surrounding 
conditions  prior  to  the  building  of  this  vessel.  There  is 
no  doubt  but  that  all  who  were  interested  in  the  enter- 
prise kept  the  matters  of  detail  of  construction,  as  well  as 
a  model  of  the  vessel  from  becoming  public  property  prior 
to  her  arrival  in  Great  Britain,  and  that  more  than  prob- 
able accounts  for  the  limited  amount  of  information  of 
the  structure  of  the  vessel. 

"The  same  builder  constructed  during  the  same  year  two  similar  vessels 
to  the  "New  World"  that  were  launched  with  steam  up,  and  that  arrived 
on  the  Pacific  side,  named  "Pacific,"  and  "Independence." 


124  HIGH  WATER  IN  WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING. 

The  building  of  this  vessel  came  about  through  a  de- 
sire of  a  few  of  the  members  of  the  New  York  Yacht  Club 
to  have  a  race  with  the  yachts  of  Great  Britain* 
We  must  remember  at  this  time  most  of  the  New  York 
shipbuilders  had  their  yards  well  employed  in  construct- 
ing merchant  vessels  of  large  dimensions,  and  small  sail- 
ing vessels  for  speed,  and  the  pilot  boats  and  a  few  yachts 
received  but  small  attention,  as  the  demand  for  them  wa» 
very  limited.  But  one  New  York  shipbuilder  who  had 
sufficient  work  on  hand  at  his  yard,  still  had  American 
enterprise  and  love  of  the  sport  of  yachting  to  offer 
George  L.  Schuyler  of  the  New  York  Yacht  Club  on  No- 
vember 15,  1850,  to  build  a  vessel,  in  which  he  says  in 
part:  "I  propose  to  build  for  you  a  yacht  of  not  less  than 
140  tons,  custom  house  measurement,  on  the  following 
terms:  The  yacht  to  be  built  in  the  best  manner,  coppered,, 
rigged,  equipped  with  joiners'  work,  cabin  and  kitchen 
furniture,  table  furniture,  .water  closets,  etc.,  ready  for 
sea.  You  are  to  designate  the  plan  of  the  interior  of  the 
vessel,  and  select  the  furniture.  The  model,  plan  and  rigv 
of  the  vessel  to  be  entirely  at  my  discretion,  it  being 
understood,  however,  that  she  is  to  be  a  strong,  seagoing 
vessel,  and  rigged  for  ocean  sailing.  For  this  vessel  com- 
plete and  ready  for  sea  you  are  to  pay  me  thirty  thousand 
dollars  (f 30,000)  upon  the  following  conditions.  *  *  * 
When  the  vessel  is  ready  she  is  to  be  placed  at  the  dis- 
posal of  Hamilton  Wilkes,  Esq.,  as  umpire,  who  after 
making  such  trials  as  are  satisfactory  to  him  for  twenty 
days,  shall  decide  whether  or  not  she  is  faster  than  any 
vessel  in  the  United  States  brought  to  compete  with  her. 
If  it  is  decided  by  the  umpire  that  she  is  not  faster  than 
every  vessel  brought  against  her  it  shall  not  be  binding" 
upon  you  to  accept  and  pay  for  her  at  all.  In  addition  to 
this  if  the  umpire  decides  that  she  is  faster  than  any 
vessel  in  the  United  States  you  are  to  have  the  right,  in- 
stead of  accepting  her  at  that  time,  to  send  her  to  Eng- 
land, match  her  against  anything  of  her  size  built  there,. 


HIGH  WATER   IN   WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING.  125 

and  if  beaten  still  to  reject  her  altogether  *  *  *"  W. 
H.  Brown." 

It  is  clear  from  this  letter  that  the  builder  proposed 
to  construct  the  vessel,  and  take  the  risk  of  her  accept- 
ance upon  her  success  in  the  trials  with  the  American 
vessels.  His  offer  was  accepted  by  the  yacht  club  and 
the  keel  of  the  vessel  laid  down  in  William  H.  Brown's 
yard  in  the  last  of  December,  1850.  There  is  an  item  of 
news  early  in  January,  '51,  regarding  this  shipyard  that 
says:  "And  also  a  yacht  ivhich  her  builder  intends  to 
exhibit  at  London  during  the  World's  Fair,  as  a  specimen 
of  an  American  yacht."  The  vessel  was  completed  in 
May,  1851,  and  subjected  to  a  few  trials  with  Com. 
Stevens  sloop  yacht  "Maria,"  but  the  schooner  failed  to 
show  any  superiority  in  speed.  She  proved  so  fast  a 
sailor  in  the  trials,  and  the  builders'  original  offer  was  so 
great  in  assuming  all  the  risk  of  the  design,  that  a  syndi- 
cate of  several  members  of  the  New  York  Yacht  Club  was 
formed,  composed  of  George  L.  Schuyler,  Edwin  A. 
Stevens,  John  C.  Stevens,  J.  A.  Hamilton  and  Hamilton 
Wilkes,  who  purchased  the  vessel  for  $20,000,  and  on 
June  20,  1851,  the  vessel  was  cleared  from  New  York  for 
London  via  Havre. 

There  have  been  accounts  written  of  this  vessel  and 
naming  George  Steers  as  the  builder.  He  no  doubt  made 
the  model  of  the  vessel  for  W.  H.  Brown  as  a  naval  archi- 
tect and  builder  of  pilot  boats  and  yachts,  and  should  be 
given  credit  for  its  design;  and  gave  constant  attention  to 
the  construction  of  the  vessel,  and  yet  it  cannot  be 
claimed  he  was  the  builder.  This  question  is  settled  by 
the  register  of  the  vessel  at  the  New  York  custom  house, 
that  is  No.  290  of  June  17,  1851,  that  says:  "William  H. 
Brown,  only  owner  of  the  ship  or  vessel  called  the 
"America":  That  the  said  ship  or  vessel  was  built  at  the 
city  aforesaid  during  the  present  year,  1851,  as  per  certi- 
ficate of  William  H.  Brown,  master  builder,  under  whose 
direction  she  was  built.  Her  length  is  93'  6",  her  breadth 


126  HIGH   WATER    IX    WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING. 

22'  6",  her  depth  9',  and  she  measures  170  50-95  tons. 
That  she  is  a  yacht  schooner,  has  a  round  stern  and  a 
round  tuck." 

CLIPPER   SHIPS. 

This  was  the  period  of  the  greatest  development  of 
'the  clipper  ships.  This  type  of  vessel  had  been  built,  as 
we  have  seen,  by  the  demand  for  vessels  in  the  China 
trade  about  ten  years  previous,  but  they  were  much 
smaller  vessels.  From  the  experience  gained  in  the 
service  of  these  vessels  the  local  builders  soon  found  the 
changes  that  w^ere  necessary  in  the  design  for  the  build- 
ing of  the  larger  and  faster  ships  demanded  in  1850  for 
the  Calif  ornia,*the  China  and  the  Australian  trade.  'Then 
began  the  building  of  that  large  fleet  of  sailing  vessels 
that  gave  the  shipbuilders  of  this  country  such  a  high 
reputation  for  its  clipper  ships  among  the  maritime 
powers  of  the  world.  There  were  builders  outside  of  New 
York  City  who  made  a  wide  reputation  at  this  time  for 
the  construction  of  large  and  fast  clipper  ships,  notably 
Donald  McKay,  of  East  Boston,  Mass.,  who  had  learned 
his  trade  in  New  York  shipyards,  and  Currier  and  Towns- 
end  of  Newburyport,  Mass.  Some  of  the  clipper  ships 
built  at  New  York  were  the  "Comet"  of  1836  tons,  the 
"Young  America"  of  1962  tons,  the  "White  Squall"  of 
1500  tons,  and  the  "Swordfisk"  of  1250  tons  by  William 
H.  Webb:  while  Westervelt  &  Mac-key,  and  Westervelt  & 
Co.  built  the  "Sweepstakes,"  the  "Kathay"  and  the  "N.  B. 
Palmer."  The  "Comet"  obtained  the  highest  reputation 
for  speed  and  safety  during  her  career  of  the  New  York 
clippers,  while  the  "Young  America"  was  an  exception- 
ally able  vessel.  There  were  several  famous  clipper  ships 
built  during  this  boom  period  for  New  York  parties,  or 
purchased  by  them  during  construction,  at  Eastern  ship- 
yards, notably  the  "Flying  Cloud"  and  the  "Dread- 
nought." During  the  height  of  this  boom  in  the  local 
shipyards  there  was  such  a  scarcity  of  vessels  that  the 
builders  of  some  of  the  Eastern  shipyards  constructed 


HIGH  WATER   IX   WOODEN    SHIPBUILDING.  127 

vessels  of  the  clipper  type  on  speculation,  their  product 
being  eagerly  taken  up  at  good  prices  in  many  instances 
by  New  York  shipping  merchants.  There  were  some  of 
these  vessels  that  proved  in  service  to  be  ill  adapted  for 
the  heavy  weather  encountered  in  the  long  voyage  to  the 
Pacific  coast,  either  of  faulty  model  or  poor  construction, 
and  the  expenses  for  repairs  to  such  vessels  were  very 
large  during  almost  every  voyage,  and  there  wrere  several 
cargoes  that  were  found  to  be  seriously  damaged  by 
water  on  the  arrival  of  the  vessels.  There  was  one  weak- 
ness that  developed  with  several  of  the  larger  clipper 
ships,  and  that  was  that  they  sprung  their  masts  in  a 
heavy  blow.  This  was  attributed  to  the  lower  end  of  the 
spars  not  being  large  enough  for  the  heavy  strain  with 
the  large  spread  of  canvas  they  carried. 

THE  RECORD  OF  SOME  OF  THE  PROMINENT  CLIPPER  SHIPS  THAT 
SAILED  FROM  NEW  YORK  FROM  1841  TO  1860. 

* Helena.     Built  by  W.  H.  Webb  in  1841  for  N.  L. 

<&  G.  Griswold,  135'x30'  6"x20'. 

Canton  to  New  York,  1843 90  days 

Canton  to  New  York,  April  1844 94  days 

New  Y'ork  to  Java  Head,  1846 ...  73  days  20  hours 

Passed  Java  Head  to  New  Y'ork,  1846 100  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  Y^ork,  1847 82  days 

Shanghai  to  New  Y'ork,  1853 102  days 

Passed  Java  Head  to  New  Y^ork,  1853 82  days 

Woosung  to  New  Y^ork,  1854 97  days 

*  Houqua.    Built  by  Brown  &  Bell,  1844.     600^  tons. 

A.  A.  Low  &  Co. 

Canton  to  New  Y^ork,  March  1845 90  days 

Canton  to  New  York,  March  1846 94  days 

New  Y^ork  to  Canton,  July  1846 .  .  86  days  17  hours 

Passed  Java  Head  to  Canton,  July  1846 .  .  72  days  14  hours 
Shanghai  to  New  Y^ork,  Feb.  1851 88  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  Y^ork,  Feb.  1851 72  days 

Shanghai  to  New  York,  Jan.  1853 107  days 

*These  vessels  were  the  first  tea   clippers  from  this  country  to  China. 


128  HIGH   WATER   IX   WOODEX   SHIPBUILDIXG. 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  Jan.  1853 80  days 

Foochow  to  New  York,  April  1854 94  days 

Passed  Java  Head  to  New  York,  April  1851 75  days 

Foockow  to  New  York,  May  1855 100  days 

* Montauk.     Built  by  William  H.  Webb,  launched 
April  1,  1844.     500  tons. 

New  York  to  Anjier,  passed,  July  1844.  .  .76  days 

Whampoa  to  New  York,  March  1845 94  days 

Whampoa  to  New  York,  March  1846 96  days 

Whampoa  to  New  York,  March  1848 93  days 

New  York  to. Sidney,  Aus.,  August  1848.  .81  days 

* Rainbow.     Built    by    Smith    &    Demon,    launched 

January  22,  1845.     159'x31'  10"xl8'  4".     757  tons,  square 

stern,  Howland  &  Aspinwall. 

Sailed  from  New  York  on  first  voyage  to  Canton 

February  2,  1845. 

Whampoa  to  New  York,  Sept.  1845 106  days 

Whampoa  to  New  York,  Sept.  1846 83  days 

Whampoa  to  New  York,  March  1847 85  days 

Whampoa  to  New  York,  Feb.  1848 88  days 

Left  New  York  for  Valparaiso  and  China  on  March 

17,  1848,  but  never  arrived  at  former  port.    Is  thought  to 

have  been  lost  off  Cape  Horn. 

*Sea    Witch.     Built    by    Smith    &    Demon,    1846. 

Howland  &  Aspinwall.    907  tons. 

Whampoa  to  New  York,  July  1847 83  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  July  1847 62  days 

Whampoa  to  New  York,  March  1848  (?)  74  cl.  14  h. 
New  York  to  San  Francisco  July  1850 ...  97  day* 

Whampoa  to  New  York,  June  1851 98  days 

New  York  to  San  Francisco  Dec.  1852 .  . .  100  days 
Shanghai  to  New  York,  June  1853 106  days 

Passed  Java  Head  to  New  York,  June  1853 87  days 

Valparaiso  to  New  York,  Jan.  1855 64  days 

*These  vessels  were  the  first  tea  clippers  from  this  country  to  China. 


HIGH  WATER   IN   WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING.  129 

*  Samuel   Russell.     Built   by   Brown   &   Bell,  1847. 

A.  A.  Low  &  Co.    173'x34'  6"xl9'  11".    957  tons. 

Canton  to  New  York,  April  18487 83  days 

New  York  to  San  Francisco,  May  1850 .  .  108  days 

Canton  to  New  York,  Jan.  1851 88  days 

Foochow  to  New  York,  Dec.  1854. 105  days 

Foochow  to  New  York,  Dec.  1857 126  days 

Passed  Java  Head  to  New  York,  Dec.  1857 78  days 

Passed  Cape  Good  Hope  to  New  York,  Dec.  1857.51  days 

Foot-how  to  New  York,  May  1859 95  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  May  1859 86  days 

Foochow  to  New  York,  March  1860 95  days 

Oriental.   Brown  &  Bell,  1849.    1107  tons. 

Canton  to  New  York,  April  1850 81  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  April  1850 70  days 

Passed  Cape  Good  Hope  to  New  York,  April  1850  42  days 

Surprise.     S.   Hall,   East  Boston,   1850;   1260  tons. 

A.  A.  Low  &  Co. 

Shanghai  to  New  York,  Jan.  1854 97  days 

Shanghai  to  New  York,  March  1855.  . .  .105  days 
Shanghai  to  New  York,  March  1857 85  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  March  1857 70  days 

Hong  Kong  to  New  York,  April  1859.  .  .  .89  days 

Passed  Java  Head  to  New  York,  April  1859 76  days 

Shanghai  to  New  York,  April  1860 90  days 

White  Squall.  Jacob  Bell,  1850.    1500  tons. 

Canton  to  New  York,  March  1853 101  days 

Passed  Java  Head  to  New  York,  March  1853 ....  81  days 
Passed  Cape  Good  Hope  to  New  York  March  1853  46  days 
San  Francisco  to  New  York,  Dec.  1853 ...  96  days 
Was  so  badly  injured  by  fire  at  same  time  as  the 
"Great  Kepublic"  as  to  be  retired  as  a  clipper  ship;  sub- 
sequently bark  rigged. 

Mandarin.    Smith  &  Demon,  1850.     700  tons. 

Shanghai  to  New  York,  May  1853 91  days 

New  York  to  Melbourne,  Dec.  1855.  ....  .70  days 

*These  vessels  were  the  first  tea  clippers  from  this  country  to  China. 


a* 

n 


El 


HIGH   WATER   IN   WOODEN    SHIPBUILDING.  131 

Shanghai  to  New  York,  April  1858 100  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  April  1858 85  days 

Foochow  to  New  York,  Dec.  1859 116  days 

Passed  Java  Head  to  New  York,  Dec.  1859 76  days 

Comet.    William  H.  Webb,  1851.     229'x40'x22'. 
Left  New  York  on  first  voyage  Oct.   1,   1851,  and 

arrived  at  San  Francisco  January  13,  1852,  104  days. 

San  Francisco  to  Whampoa,  April  1852.  .58  days 
Whampoa  to  New  York,  Aug.  1852 96  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  Aug.  1852 72  days 

NewT  York  to  San  Francisco,  Jan.  1853 .  .  112  days 
San  Francisco  to  New  York,  May  1853.  .83  d.  18  h. 
New  York  to  San  Francisco  Dec.  1853.  .  .127  days 
San  Francisco  to  New  York,  March  1854.76  d.  7  h. 
San  Francisco  to  Cape  Horn  March  1854.35  d.  7  h. 

Cape  Horn  to  New  York  March  1854 41  days 

New  York  to  Liverpool,  May  1854 19  days 

Liverpool  to  Hong  Kong,  Sept.  1854. .  .84  d.  16  h. 

Best  day's  run  350  miles. 

San  Francisco  to  New  York,  Dec.  1857. .  .98  days 
New  York  to  San  Francisco,  April  1859.112  days 
•San  Francisco  to  Hong  Kong,  June  1859.51  days 
Manila  to  New  York,  Jan.  1860 115  days 

Passed  Java  Head  to  New  York,  Jan.  1860 77  days 

Passed  Cape  Good  Hope  to  New  York,  Jan.  1860.41  days 

Passed  Java  Head  to  New  York,  Jan.  1861 77  days 

Flying  Cloud.     Donald  McKay,  1851,  229'x41'x22', 

for  Train  &  Co.,  of  Boston,  but  purchased  by  Grinnell  & 

Minturn  of  New  York. 

Sailed  on  first  voyage,  from  New  York,  June  1,  1851, 

arrived  at  San  Francisco  August  30,  1851,  90  days  12 

hours. 

San  Francisco  to  Hong  Kong,  Dec.  1851.  .47  days 
Whampoa  (Hong  Kong)  to  New  York,  April 

1852  94  days 

New  York  to  San  Francisco,  Sept.  1852 . .  113  days 
San  Francisco  to  Whampoa,  Nov.  1852.  .  .40  days 


HIGH  WATER   IN   WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING.  133 

Passed  Honolulu  from  San  Francisco  Nov.  1852  8  d.  8J  h. 

Whampoa  to  New  York,  March  1853 97  days 

New  York  to  San  Francisco  Aug.  1853 . .  105  days 

New  York  to  Cape  Horn  Aug.  1853 38  days 

San  Francisco  to  New  York,  Dec.  1853.  .  .92  days 
New  York  to  San  Francisco,  April  1854  89  d.  8  h. 

NVw  York  to  Cape  Horn,  April  1854 48  days 

Best  day's  run  360  miles. 

San  Francisco  to  Hong  Kong,  June  1854.37  days 
Hong  Kong  to  New  York,  Nov.  1854 ....  115  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  Nov.  1854 73  days 

New  York  to  San  Francisco,  June  1855 .  .  110  days 

New  York  to  Cape  Horn,  June  1855 40  days 

San  Francisco  to  Hong  Kong,  Aug.  1855.46  days 
Hong  Kong  to  New  York,  Dec.  1855 97  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  Dec.  1855 72  days 

On  her  first  voyage,  leaving  New  York  in  June  1851, 

this  vessel  sailed  for  26  days  consecutively  227  2-5  knots  a 

day.    Her  greatest  daily  performance  was  374  knots:  and 

her  least  daily  sailing  was  93  knots. 

N.  B.  Palmer.  Westervelt  &  Mackey,  1851,  1399 
tons.  202'5'x386'x21'.  A.  A.  Low  &  Co. 

New  York  to  San  Francisco,  Aug.  1851.  .107  days 

Honolulu  to  New  York,  July  1854 82  days 

Manila  to  New  York,  July  1855 99  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  July  1855 81  days 

Passed  Cape  Good  Hope  to  New  York,  July  1855.48  days 

Hong  Kong  to  New  York,  Jan.  1858 ....  100  days 
Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  Jan.  1858 73  days 

Shanghai  to  New  York,  Jan.  1859 82  days 

Passed  Aujier  to  New  York,  Jan.  1859 .  .64  days 

Passed  Cape  Good  Hope  to  New  York,  Jan.  1859.35  days 

Canton  to  New  York,  Jan.  1860 108  days 

Passed  Java  Head  to  New  York,  Jan.  1860 78  days 

Trade  Wind.  Jacob  Bell,  1851.  2024  tons. 

New  York  to  San  Francisco,  Feb.  1853 .  .  103  days 


134 


HIGH  WATER   IN   WOODEN    SHIPBUILDING. 


San  Francisco  to  New  York,  June  1853 ...  84  days 
San  Francisco  to  New  York,  June  1854 .  .  89  days 

Nightingale.  Built  at  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  1851. 
1300  tons. 

New  York  to  Melbourne,  Aug.  1853 75  days 

New  York  to  Melbourne,  Aug.  1854 .  .  .  TO  d.  16  h. 

Shanghai  to  New  York,  May  1856 88  :days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  May  1856 75  days 

Passed  Cape  Good  Hope  to  New  York,  May  1856 . 43  days 

Foochow  to  New  York,  Jan.  1860 113  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  Jan.  1860 81  days 

Siiordfts/2.  William  H.  Webb,  1851.  1130  tons. 
170'x36'x202'. 

New  York  to  San  Francisco,  Feb.  1852.90  d.  18  h. 

Whampoa  to  New  York,  Jan.  1854 97  days 

Manila  to  New  York,  Feb.  1855 101  days 

Manila  to  New  York,  April  1857 101  days 


CLIPPER   SHIP   "GAZELLE." 


HIGH  WATER   IX   WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING.  135 

Manila  and  St.  Helena  to  New  York,  March 

1858  107  days 

New  York  to  Hong  Kong,  Aug.  1858 98  days 

Shanghai  to  New  York,  April  1859 104  days 

Shanghai  to  New  York,  March  1860 80  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  March  1860 TO  days 

Passed  Cape  Good  Hope  to  New  York,  March 

1860  39  days 

Gazelle.     William     H.     Webb,     1851.       1244    tons, 

182'x38'x21'. 

Whampoa  to  New  York,  April  1853 99  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  April  1853 83  days 

Whampoa  to  New  York,  April  1854 87  days 

New  York  to  San  Francisco,  Sept.  1854 . 116  days 
Invincible.   William  H.  Webb,  1851.    2100  tons. 
London  to  New  York,  March  1853.77. ..  .21  days 
San  Francisco  to  New  York,  Jan.  1854 ...  90  days 
Canton  to  New  York,  Oct.  1859 . 126  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  Oct.  1859 78  days 

Liverpool  to  New  York,  Nov.  1860 16  days 

Hurricane.     Built  at  Hoboken,  N.  J.,  1851.     1680 
tons. 

San  Francisco  to  New  York,  April  1854.  .95  days 
New  York  to  San  Francisco,  Sept.  1854.100  days 

New  York  to  Cape  Horn,  Sept.  1854 51  days 

San  Francisco  to  New  York,  Sept.  1857.105  days* 
San  Francisco  to  Cape  Horn,  Sept.  1857.55  days 

Sovereign  of  the  Seas.   Donald  McKay,  1852,    2421 
tons. 

New  York  to  San  Francisco,  Nov.  1852.  .103  days 

New  York  to  Cape  Horn,  Nov.  1852 51  days 

Cape  Horn  to  Equator,  Nov.  1852 33  days 

The  Equator  to  San  Francisco,  Nov.  1852.19  days 

Honolulu  to  New  York,  May  1853 84  days 

During  this  voyage  from  Honolulu  to  Cape  Horn  of 
8634  miles  the  trip  was  made  in  37  days:  in  26  of  those 


136 


HIGH  WATER   IX   WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING. 


days  consecutively,  this  vessel  made  6489  miles,  an 
average  of  249.6  miles  per  day,  and  on  one  of  those  days 
made  the  phenomenal  run  of  430  miles. 


CLIPPER    SHIP   "SOVEREIGN   OF   THE    SEAS." 

New  York  to  Liverpool,  July  1853 13  d.  19  h. 

In  1854  this  vessel  was  sold  to  parties  at  Hamburg, 
Germany. 

Flying  Dutchman.    William  H.  Webb,  1852,     1400 
tons,  190'x37'x21'. 

New  York  to  San  Francisco,  Jan.  1853 . .  104  days 
San  Francisco  to  New  York,  May  1853 ...  85  days 
New  York  to  San  Francisco,  Sept.  1853 . 106  days 
Contest.     D.  D.  Westervelt,  1852.     1100  tons. 

New  York  to  San  Francisco,  Feb.  1853 .  .  100  days 
San  Francisco  to  New  York,  May  1853 . 79  d.  12  h. 
Tahiti  Sand  Islands  to  New  York,  May 

1854     85  days 

Shanghai  to  New  York,  June  1855 99  days 

Passed  Java  Head  to  New  York,  June  1855 78  days 

Canton  to  New  York,  March  1858 102  days 

Messenger.    Jacob  Bell,  1852.    1350  tons. 

Whampoa  to  New  York,  April  1853 93  days 

Passed  Java  Head  to  New  York,  April  1853 61  days 


HIGH  WATER  IN   WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING. 


137 


Jacob  Bell.    Jacob  Bell,  1852.    1440  tons. 
Passed  Anjier  from  Hong  Kong  to  New  York  Dec. 

1857 69  days 

Passed  Cape  Good  Hope  from  Hong  Kong  to  New 

York,  Dec.  1857 ' 41  days 

Whampoa  to  New  York,  Jan.  1860 104  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  Jan.  1860 77  days 

David  Brown.    Roosevelt  &  Joyce,  1853.  1750  tons. 

New  York  to  San  Francisco,  March  1854.98  days 

Whampoa  to  New  York,  March  1860 . .  .  104  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  March  1860 81  days 


CLIPPER   SHIP   "YOUXG   AMERICA." 

Young  America.    W.    H.   Webb,   1853.      23(W   tons, 
235'x40'x25°'. 

New  York  to  San  Francisco,  Sept.  1853 .  Ill  days 
Sandwich    Islands    to    New    York,    April 

1854     96  days 

New  York  to  San  Francisco,  Oct.  1854.  .109  days 


138  HIGH   WATER   IX   WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING. 

Manila  to  New  York,  Dec.  1855 100  days 

San  Francisco  to  New  York,  Dec.  1859 ...  99  days 
San  Francisco  to  Cape  Horn,  Dec.  1859 .  .  44  days 
Red  Jacket.     Kockland,  Maine,  1853.     2434  tons. 

New  York  to  Liverpool,  Jan.  1854 14  d.  8  h. 

New  York  to  Bell  Buoy  at  Liverpool,  Jan. 

1854 ." 13  d.  H  k. 

Liverpool  to  Melbourne,  July  1854 .  ....  ...  69  days 

Highflyer.    Currier  &  Townsend,  1853.     1200  tons. 

Canton  to  New  York,  April  1854 89  days 

New  York  to  Liverpool,  June  1854 24  days 

Liverpool  to  New  York,  Aug.  1854 31  days 

Liverpool  to  New  York,  Feb.  1855 21  days 

Sweepstakes.     Westervelt    &    Mackey,    1853.      1735 

tons. 

New  York  to  San  Francisco,  Dec.  1853 ...  94  days 
Canton  to  New  York,  July  1854 109  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  July  1854 76  days 

Passed  Cape  Good  Hope  to  New  York,  July  1854 . 46  days 
New  York  to  Sari  Francisco,  Feb.  1855 . .  119  days 
Shanghai  to  New  York,  March  1857 ....  100  days 

Passed  Java  Head  to  New  York,  March  1857 ....  77  days 
Kathay.    Westervelt  &  Mackey,  1853.    1650  tons. 
Canton  to  New  York,  Nov.  1854 107  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  Nov.  1854 78  days 

Shanghai  to  New  York,  Jan.  1856 83  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  Jan.  1856. 68  days 

Shanghai  to  New  York,  Jan.  1857 87  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  Jan.  1857 72  days 

Amoy  to  New  York,  Feb.  1860 93  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  Feb.  1860 74  days 

Panama.     Thomas  Collyer,  1853.     1300  tons. 

A  fast  but  wet  ship. 
Shanghai  to  New  York,  Feb.  1853 97  days 

Passed  Java  Head  to  New  York,  Feb.  1853 75  days 

Liverpool  to  New  York,  Feb.  1854 22  days 

Shanghai  to  New  York,  Jan.  1855 ....  85  d.  14  h. 


HIGH   WATER    IX   WOODEN    SHIPBUILDING. 


139 


Passed  Anjier  to  New  York,  Jan.  1855 67  days 

New  York  to  Melbourne,  July  1856 74  d.  8  h. 

Shanghai  to  Melbourne,  March  1857 97  days 

Passed  Anjier  to  Melbourne,  March  1857 79  days 

Ocean    Telegraph.    Medford,  Mass.,  1854.  1600  tons. 

Callao  to  New  York,  April  1855 58  days 

Honolulu  to  New  York,  June  1856 92  days 

San  Francisco  to  New  York,  Aug.  1859.  .99  days 

Great  Republic.  Donald  McKay,  1853. 

This  was  the  largest  clipper  ship  built  in  this 
country,  if  not  in  the  world.  Her  dimensions  were  334^ 
feet  by  53^  feet  by  38  feet  deep,  having  four  complete 
decks,  and  fitted  with  four  masts.  These  spars  were  re- 


(UPPER   SHIP    "GREAT   REPUBLIC." 

Fully  Rigged. 

markable  for  their  dimensions,  being  two  of  44  inches, 
one  of  40  inches,  and  one  of  26  inches,  greatest  diameter: 
the  three  largest  were  built  of  pitch  pine,  doweled,  bolted 
and  hooped  with  iron.  The  vessel  was  sent  to  New  York 
to  load  with  cargo  for  California,  and  in  29  days  after  her 


140  HIGH  WATER   IX   WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING. 

arrival,  on  December  27,  1853,  she  was  badly  damaged  by 
fire  from  burning  sparks  and  coal  blown  during  a  high 
northwest  wind  from  a  fire  on  shore.  The  upper  works 
of  the  vessel  were  destroyed  and  when  rebuilt  there  were 
but  three  decks  and  three  masts.  A.  A.  Low  £  Bro. 
owned  her  for  several  years,  and  in  1867  she  was  sold, 
after  being  laid  up  for  more  than  two  years,  to  parties 
at  Yarmouth,  N.  S.,  and  name  changed  -to  "Denmark." 
Her  record  as  an  American  vessel  was  now  closed,  as 
many  of  the  prominent  clipper  ships  of  the  period,  in 
their  purchase  by  foreign  owners.  In  1872  she  was 
owned  by  the  Merchants7  Trading  Company  of  Liverpool. 
She  was  lost  during  a  hurricane  off  Bermuda  while  on  a 
voyage  from  Kio  Janeiro  to  St.  John,  N.  B.,  on  March  4, 
1872.  At  no  time  was  she  noted  for  high  speed.  Her 
shortened  sail  area  after  the  fire  no  doubt  gave  her  less 
power  for  driving. 

New  York  to  Liverpool,  March  1856 19  days 

New  York  to  San  Francisco,  March  1857 91  days 

San  Francisco  to  New  York,  March  1859 99  days 

Dreadnought.       Currier     &     Towusend,     Newbury- 
port,  Mass.,  1853,  200'x39'x26'. 

Left  New  York  on  first  voyage  Dec.  6, 1853. 


CLIPPER   SHIP   -DREADNOUGHT." 


HIGH  WATER  IN  WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING,  141 

At  Liverpool,  Dec.  30,  1853 21  days 

Liverpool  to  New  York,  Feb.  1854 19  days 

New  York  to  Liverpool,  April  1854 18  days 

Liverpool  to  New  York,  June  1854 26  days 

New  York  to  Liverpool,  Aug.  1854 30  days 

Liverpool  to  New  York,  Oct.  1854 29  days 

New  York  to  Liverpool,  Dec.  1854 13  d.  11  h. 

In  one  day  made  345  miles  and  in  four  consecutive 
days  1132  miles.  There  were  few  Atlantic  steamships 
other  than  those  of  the  Collin's  line,  and  the  larger  ones 
of  the  Cunard  line,  that  could  beat  this  record  at  the 
time. 

Liverpool  to  New  York,  Jan.  1855 22  days 

Liverpool  to  New  York,  Aug.  1855 27  days 

New  York  to  Liverpool,  Feb.  1856 15  days 

Liverpool  to  New  York,  March  1856 23  days 

New  York  to  Liverpool,  May  1856 16  days 

Liverpool  to  New  York,  July  1856 30  days 

New  York  to  Liverpool,  Sept.  1856 21  days 

Liverpool  to  New  York,  Nov.  1856 27  days 

New  York  to  Liverpool,  Dec.  1856 25  days 

Liverpool  to  New  York,  Feb.  1857 21  days 

Land  to  land  in  15  days. 

New  York  to  Liverpool,  April  1857 20  days 

New  York  to  Liverpool,  March  1859 13  d.  &  h. 

Sandy  Hook  to  Queenstown,  March  1859  9  d.  17  h. 
The  log  book  of  the  "Dreadnought"  containing  the 
record  of  this  famous  voyage  of  March  1859  is  not  in  ex- 
istence, so  far  as  known  to  the  descendants  of  David 
Ogden.  Captain  Samuels  informed  the  writer  that  on 
this  voyage  he  ran  the  vessel  to  Daunt's  Rock,  com- 
municated with  the  pilot  boat  on  the  station  at  the 
mouth  of  Cork  harbor,  and  proceeded  on  his  way  to 
Liverpool  after  a  very  short  stop.  The  vessel  left  Hew 
York  harbor  with  a  high  northeast  wind,  but  about 
twelve  hours  later  this  was  succeeded  by  a  high  north- 
westerly wind  on  the  North  Atlantic  coast.  An  examina- 


142  HIGH  WATER   IN   WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING. 

tion  of  the  reports  of  vessels  arriving  at  New  York  from 
Great  Britain  after  the  "Dreadnought"  sailed  from  New 
York  on  February  27,  1859,  till  the  day  of  her  call  off 
Cork  harbor  show  us  that  there  were  a  succession  of 
heavy  westerly  gales  during  the  whole  period:  "experi- 
enced heavy  westerly  gales  during  whole  passage:"  has 
been  14  days  west  of  Bermuda  in  heavy  westerly  gales: 
"for  the  first  13  days  experienced  nothing  but  high 
westerly  gales:"  "experienced  very  heavy  weather."  This 
favorable  condition  for  a  fast  eastern  passage  continued 
to  the  time  of  the  stop  off  Queenstown,  but  leaving  there 
the  "Dreadnought"  encountered  light  head  winds,  and 
arrived  at  Liverpool  on  March  13  according  to  the  "Lon- 
don Times"  in  13  days.  Other  ship  news  confirmed  these 
figures. 

Some  of  the  earlier  New  York  built  packet  ships 
made  fast  voyages  as  well  as  the  clipper  ships. 

Natchez. 

Canton  to  New  York,  June  1843 . .  .96  days 

Canton  to  New  York,  April  1844 81  days 

This  vessel  was  built  by  Webb  &  Allen  in  1831:  was 
523  72-95  tons,  1303'x299'xl410'.  Custom  House  Register 
Nov.  14,  1831,  for  the  "New  Line"  of  packets  between 
New  York  and  New  Orleans  and  was  the  fast  sailor  of  the 
coastwise  fleet  of  that  period.  She  was  sold  to  Howland 
&  Aspinwall  in  1838,  who  placed  her  in  the  South 
American  trade. 

Independence. 

New  York  to  Liverpool,  1841 14  days  5  hours 

New  York  to  Liverpool,  Feb.  1843.  .............  .18  days 

Gar  rick. 
New  York  to  Liverpool,  July  1844 15  days  12  hours 

Yorkshire. 
Liverpool  to  New  York,  March  1845 ...........  .21  days 

New  York  to  Liverpool,  Feb.  1846 15  days 


HIGH  WATER  IN  WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING.  143 

RECORD  OF   SOME   BOSTON  CLIPPER  SHIPS. 

John  Bertram. 
Boston  to  San  Francisco,  Oct.  1853 114  days 

Phantom. 
Boston  to  San  Francisco,  April  1853 104  days 

Flying  Fish. 

Boston  to  San  Francisco,  Jan.  1852 99  days 

Boston  to  San  Francisco,  June  1853 91  days 

Northern  Light. 

Boston  to  San  Francisco,  March  1852 109  days 

San  Francisco  to  Boston,  Sept.  1852 100  days 

San  Francisco  to  Boston,  May  1853 76  days  8  hours 

Boston  to  San  Francisco,  Dec.  1853 124  days 

Boston  to  San  Francisco,  Sept.  1854 125  days 

Lightning. 
Boston  to  Liverpool,  Feb.  1854 13  days  20  hours 

For  ten  days  during  a  voyage  of  75  days  from  Mel- 
bourne to  Liverpool,  ending  in  Nov.  1854  this  vessel 
made  3722  miles.  This  vessel  and  two  others,  the  "James 
Baines"  and  the  "Champion  of  the  Seas"  were  con- 
structed by  Donald  McKay,  of  East  Boston,  for  James 
Baines  &  Co.,  of  Liverpool,  England. 

Westward  Ho. 
Boston  to  San  Francisco,  Jan.  1853 103  days 

Star  of  Empire.  Donald  McKay,  2050  tons,  1853. 

Boston  to  Liverpool,  May  1853 19  days 

Boston  to  Liverpool,  Jan.  1854 14  days  15  hours 

The  first  of  the  China  tea  clipper  ships  to  sail  by  the 
way  of  Cape  Horn  to  San  Francisco  was  the  "Helena/7 
which  left  New  York  on  March  11,  1849,  with  100  pas- 
sengers and  freight  for  San  Francisco,  where  she  arrived 
after  163  days,  and  on  Nov.  23  sailed  from  that  port  for 
Shanghai.  There  were  previous  to  this  date  two  of  the 
tea  clippers  that  had  gone  by  the  way  of  Cape  Horn.  The 
"Montauk"  sailed  from  New  York  on  May  26,  1848,  to 
Sidney,  Australia,  in  81  days  and  arrived  at  Hong  Kong 
on  November  15.  The  "Sea  Witch"  left  New  York  April 


144  HIGH  WATER   IN   WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING. 

28,  1848,  for  Valparaiso  where  she  arrived  in  69  days, 
stopped  at  Callao,  and  sailed  for  Hong  Kong  where  she 
arrived  on  December  7,  1848.  The  "Rainbow"  sailed 
from  New  York  on  March  17,  1848,  for  Valparaiso.  Her 
voyage  w^as  not  completed.  It  is  thought  she  was  lost  in 
rounding  Cape  Horn.  These  were  the  first  of  the  early 
tea  clipper  ships  to  sail  by  the  way  of  Cape  Horn. 

There  was  one  ship  that  was  in  the  China  trade  at 
the  time  of  the  pioneer  clippers  that  should  be  men- 
tioned. Rowland  &  Aspinwall  extended  their  trade 
with  South  America  to  China  with  the  "Natchez"  in  1842. 
This  vessel  sailed  from  New  York  June  4,  1842,  for  Val- 
paraiso, where  she  arrived  in  75  days.  Left  there,  stop- 
ping at  Callao,  for  Macao,  China,  where  she  arrived 
January  15,  1843.  Left  Macao  for  New  York,  where  she 
arrived  June  5.  Then  sailed  from  New  York  for  Val- 
paraiso June  25,  where  she  arrived  in  82  days:  stopped  at 
Callao  for  a  cargo,  and  sailed  for  Canton,  where  she 
arrived  December  17,  1843:  and  left  Canton  January  14 
and  arrived  at  New  York  April  20,  1844.  Again  sailed 
from  New  York  for  Canton  via  Valparaiso  on  May  20 
and  arrived  at  Canton  November  20.  Left  Canton 
January  14, 1845,  and  arrived  at  New  York  April  3,  same 
year.  Her  first  voyage  around  the  world  from  New  York 
in  June  1842  to  June  1843  was  made  in  one  year,  with 
two  stops,  while  the  second  voyage  was  covered  in  9 
months  and  26  days,  including  stops  at  three  ports  in  dis- 
charging and  receiving  cargoes:  and  the  third  voyage  in 
10  months  14  days,  including  stops  at  two  ports  discharg- 
ing and  receiving  cargoes.  This  was  done  by  a  New  York 
built  vessel  that  was  constructed  long  before  the  clipper 
ship  was  called  for,  and  for  the  type  of  vessel  shows  she 
was  a  fast  sailor  and  was  commanded  by  "a  driver" 
without  doubt.  Her  owners  had  now  built  the  "Rain- 
bow" for  jhe  China  trade.  The  "Helena"  had  made  one 
-  sj  «ge  during  this  period  over  the  same  route. 

Those  that  followed   via   San   Francisco   were   the 


HIGH  WATER  IN  WOODEN  SHIPBUILDING.  145 

"Samuel  Russell,"  that  sailed  from  New  York  January 
1(5,  1850,  and  cleared  from  that  port  on  June  13  for  China. 
The  "Houqua"  left  New  York  March  15,  1850,  and  arrived 
at  San  Francisco  in  130  days,  and  sailed  for  China  from 
that  port  on  September  2,  1850.  The  "Sea  Witch"  sailed 
from  New  York  April  12,  1850,  arrived  at  San  Fran- 
cisco in  97  days  and  sailed  for  Hong  Kong  on  September 
13.  It  was  from  the  success  of  these  vessels  in  their  new 
trade,  that  was  now  assuming  such  large  proportions, 
that  brought  into  being  the  larger  and  more  perfect 
clipper  ships  of  that  date.  The  "Sea  Witch"  and  the 
"Samuel  Russell"  being  the  larger  and  the  latest  of  these 
tea  clippers  no  doubt  by  their  superior  sailing  qualities 
over  the  old-time  sailing  ships  for  long  voyages,  had  a 
marked  influence  in  the  design  of  the  improved  clipper 
ships. 

It  is  clearly  evident  that  the  commanders  of  these 
clipper  ships  cannot  be  separated  from  the  vessels  them- 
selves in  making  up  the  record.  The  names  of  Josiah  P. 
Cressy,  E.  C.  Gardner,  Robert  Waterman,  Charles  P. 
Low,  L.  McKay,  Nathaniel  B.  Palmer,  Samuel  Samuels, 
with  some  others,  will  long  be  remembered  as  captains  of 
the  American  clipper  ships  that  had  a  wide  reputation 
for  high  speed  during  that  period. 

CHALLENGES     TO     RACE     CLIPPER    SHIPS. 

History  has  handed  down  to  us  that  the  "Flying 
Cloud"  was  far  in  advance  of  all  clipper  ships  of  her  day 
in  making  record  time.  She  was  undoubtedly  a  vessel 
having  fine  lines  for  speed,  and  was  most  ably  handled  in 
all  her  voyages  as  shown  by  the  record :  but  there  was  one 
other  American  clipper  ship  of  the  same  period  that  the 
record  has  shown  to  be  her  equal,  and  this  vessel  was  the 
"Comet,"  a  New  York  built  vessel  whose  record  for  high 
speed  over  a  long  period  of  time  is  equal  to  any  vessel  of 
her  class. 

During  the  boom  period  of  the  clipper  ship  there  T\    £ 


146  HIGH  WATER   IN   WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING. 

considerable  rivalry  between  the  builders  of  this  type  of 
vessel  at  New  York  and  at  Boston,  Mass.,  and  so  keen  be- 
came the  competition  to  produce  the  vessel  of  the  highest 
speed  and  beauty  of  form,  that  all  the  skill  of  our  best 
naval  architects  was  brought  into  use.  This  subse- 
quently led  to  challenges  that  were  offered  to  test  the 
speed  of  some  of  the  clipper  ships  of  prominence.  The 
one  case  that  excited  most  interest  was  that  just  after 
the  "Sovereign  of  the  Seas"  made  her  fast  voyage  from 
Honolulu  to  New  York,  arriving  on  May  6,  1853,  the 
"Comet,"  arriving  the  next  day  from  San  Francisco,  hav- 
ing made  the  quickest  voyage  between  that  port  and  New 
York  to  that  date:  and  though  as  to  still  further  add  fuel 
to  the  flame  the  "Flying  Dutchman"  arrived  the  next  day, 
the  8th  of  May,  in  85  days  from  San  Francisco.  There 
was  the  "Sovereign  of  the  Seas"  adding  to  the  fame  of 
the  Eastern  builder  that  credit  for  fast  clipper  ships 
already  acquired  by  the  high  speed  of  the  "Flying 
Cloud."  They  had  not  got  over  their  shouting  for  what 
seemed  to  be  the  better  model  of  the  Boston  built  clipper 
ships,  than  there  arrived  two  New  York  built  clipper 
ships  in  phenomenal  time,  to  upset  all  opinions  of  the 
knowing  ones  on  fast  sailing  vessels.  It  was  now  about 
even  with  the  Boston  and  New  York  built  clipper  ships, 
and  this  brought  on  a  fever  of  speculation  and  banter 
from  the  opposing  interests  that  in  a  few  days  warmed  up 
the  sporting  blood  in  marine  circles  at  New  York  and  at 
Boston,  and  in  a  few  days  it  was  "handed  out"  that  fifty 
thousand  dollars  was  ready  to  be  placed  on  the  Boston 
built  vessel  in  a  race  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco  in 
ballast  or  otherwise,  and  to  sail  within  thirty  days  of 
each  other,  or  together.  This  "chip  on  the  shoulder"  was 
recognized  in  a  few  days,  when  George  Daniels  the 
owner,  and  William  H.  Webb,  the  builder,  of  the  "Young 
America,"  just  completed,  accepted  the  challenge  from 
the  owners  of  the  "Sovereign  of  the  Seas"  for  the  sum  of 
$20,000,  ten  thousand  dollars  for  each,  both  vessels  to  be 


HIGH  WATER   IN   WOODEN    SHIPBUILDING.  147 

loaded,  and  to  sail  together  or  within  thirty  days  of  each 
other.  This  acceptance  of  the  challenge  was  recognized 
by  the  owners  of  the  Boston  built  vessel,  "but  the  then 
condition  of  the  California  freight  market  did  not  offer 
any  advantage  to  send  the  vessel  to  the  Pacific  coast/7 
but  hoped  at  a  later  date  a  better  feeling  would  prevail 
that  would  enable  them  to  place  her  in  the  San  Francisco 
trade,  and  then  to  sail  her  for  the  stipulated  amount 
against  any  ship  Mr.  Webb  was  willing  to  match  against 
her.  The  Boston  built  vessel  never  entered  the  New 
York  and  San  Francisco  trade  again. 

The  "Sovereign  of  the  Seas"  was  registered  at  the 
Boston  Custom  House  June  19,  1852,  Donald  McKay, 
managing  owner.  This  register  was  surrendered  at  the 
New  York  Custom  House  June  18,  1853,  with  Andrew  F. 
Meincke  of  New  York  as  sole  owner.  Funck  &  Meincke 
were  ship  brokers  at  the  time  at  93  Wall  street,  New 
York.  The  next  day  the  vessel  sailed  from  New  York 
for  Liverpool  and  was  engaged  in  the  Liverpool  and  Lon- 
don, and  Melbourne  and  China  trade  for  some  years.  In 
May  1854  the  vessel  passed  into  the  possession  of  J.  C. 
Godeffroy  &  Son  of  Hamburg,  Germany,  who  purchased 
her  from  Donald  McKay,  her  builder. 

It  was  some  time  later  than  the  "Sovereign  of  the 
Seas"  and  "Young  America"  excitement,  when  those  in- 
terested in  the  "Sweepstakes"  offered  to  race  the  vessel 
against  any  of  the  widely-known  Eastern  built  clippers 
for  a  distance  of  one  thousand  miles  to  sea,  vessel  for 
vessel.  This  failed  to  bring  forth  any  recognition  of  the 
challenge.  These  two  cases  show  how  deep  seated  was 
the  rivalry  between  some  of  the  builders  of  the  two  cities, 
and  what  sporting  blood  was  in  the  veins  of  our  shipping 
interests  of  that  period.  It  must  be  remembered  we  had 
the  clipper  ships  of  the  highest  speed  at  the  time,  the 
world  over. 

•  The  prominent  shipbuilders  of  the  city  and  imme- 
diate vicinity,  for  Williamsburg  and  Greenpoint  on  the 


148 


HIGH  WATER   IX    WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING. 


East  river,  and  Jersey  City  and  Hoboken  on  the  North 
river  side,  had  begun  to  take  over  those  forced  out  of 
the  city  by  the  march  of  public  improvements  and  the 
city's  expansion  was  in  1853, 'in  the  city  proper,  William 
H.  Webb,  Jacob  A.  Westervelt  &  Co.,  William  H.  Brown, 
William  Collyer,  Thomas  Collyer,  the  one  most  noted  for 


THREE-MASTED  SCHOONER  "ECKFORD  WEBB." 

the  fast  river  steamboats  of  the  time,  many  of  them 
narrow  of  beam,  and  cranky:  Jeremiah  Simonson,  George 
Steers,  the  designer  of  the  yacht  "America,"  and  builder 
of  the  Collin's  steamship  "Adriatic."  John  English,  who 
was  interested  with  William  H.  Brown  in  the  repair 
work  and  the  marine  railway  for  several  years,  had  this 
year  taken  the  business  of  the  new  work  on  the  with- 
drawal of  Mr.  Brown  from  business:  Roosevelt  &  Joyce, 


HIGH  WATER   IN   WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING.  149 

successors  to  Brown  &  Bell:  Smith  &  Demon,  the  oldest 
firm  now  in  the  business,  but  who  retired  the  next  year. 
Then  in  Greenpoint  Eckford  Webb*,  E.  F.  Williams,  E. 
-S.  Whitlock,  Samuel  Sneeden,  Edward  Lupton,  Jeremiah 
Simonson  went  there  in  1855.  In  Wllliamsburg  there 
were  in  1855  Lawrence  &  Foulks,  Ariel  Patterson  and 
Thomas  Stack.  In  Hoboken,  N.  J.,  there  were  Isaac  C. 
-Smith  .&  Son  and  Capes  &  Allison.  In  South  Brooklyn 
Devine  Burtis,  who  had  built  some  fine  river  steamboats. 
To  show  the  activity  of  the  business  during  this 
boom  period  a  few  years  may  be  cited  of  the  tonnage  put 
afloat  for  eight  of  those  years.  Launched  in  1847  36,649 
tons:  1848,  38,085  tons:  1849,  52,225  tons:  1850,  65,521 
tons:  1851,  53,048  tons:  1852,  46,479  tons:  1853,  56,644 
tons:  1854,  81,149  tons.  In  1848  there  were  put  afloat  16 
steamers  and  14  sailing  vessels  and  16  were  unfinished  on 
the  stocks  at  the  end  of  the  year.  The  builders  finishing 
the  largest  number  of  vessels  this  year  included  W.  H. 
Webb,  W.  H.  Brown,  Westervelt  &  Mackey  and  Law- 
rence &  Sneeden.  In  1849  there  were  launched  3  steam- 
ships, 11  steamboats,  6  ferryboats  and  24  sailing  vessels, 
making  44  in  all,  and  leaving  23  unfinished  on  the 
stocks.  In  1850  there  were  put  overboard  14  steam- 
ships, 16  steamboats  and  33  sailing  vessels,  63  in  all 
and  leaving  31  vessels  unfinished  on  the  stocks  at 
the  end  of  the  year.  The  largest  builders  this  year 
were  Westervelt  &  Mackey  of  10  sail  and  steam  vessels, 
William  H.  Webb  8  steam  and  sail  vessels:  William 
H.  Brown  9  steam  vessels,  6  for  Pacific  coast  business 
in  which  he  was  wholly  or  partly  interested:  and  Thomas 
€ollyer  of  8  steamships  and  steamboats.  I  In  1851  there 
were  launched  17  steamships,  20  steamboats  and  46  sail- 
ing vessels,  83  in  all:  and  23  remaining  unfinished  on  the 
stocks.*  This  was  the  banner  year  for  steamboats;  those 
building  the  larger  number  being  Thomas  Collyer,  Wil- 
liam Collyer,  Capes  &  Allison,  and  Samuel  Sneeden. 

*Webb  &  Bell  in  May,  1856. 


150  HIGH  WATER  IN  WOODEN  SHIPBUILDING. 

William  H.  Brown  built  this  year  the  celebrated  yacht 
"America."  The  year  1852  was  not  quite  so  lively  in  the 
shipyards,  for  the  vessels  put  afloat  included  41  steam 
vessels  and  28  sail  vessels,  and  28  uncompleted  on  the 
stocks  at  the  end  of  the  year.  The  builders  of  the  largest 
number  of  vessels  were  Westervelt  &  Co.,  William  H. 
Webb  and  Jeremiah  Simonson.  In  1853  there  were 
launched  in  New  York  and  immediate  vicinity  37  steam 
vessels  and  43  sailing  vessels,  the  builders  of  the  largest 
number  this  year  being  W.  H.  Webb,  Westervelt  &  Co., 
Perrine,  Patterson  &  Stack,  and  Isaac  C.  Smith  &  Son. 
In  1854  there  were  launched  43  steam  vessels  and  68  sail- 
ing vessels,  in  all  111  vessels,  and  there  were  on  the  stocks 
at  the  end  of  the  year  18  sailing  vessels  and  4  steam 
vessels  that  were  unfinished.  There  were  31  more  vessels 
launched  in  1854  than  the  year  previous.  In  1855  there 
was  a  falling  off  in  the  number  of  vessels  put  afloat,  for 
there  were  but  38  sailing  vessels  and  13  steam  vessels 
launched,  and  21  left  on  the  stocks  for  completion. ^Wil- 
liam H.  Webb,  Westervelt  &  Co.  and  Jeremiah  Sinionson 
were  the  builders  of  the  largest  number  of  vessels  this 
year.  During  the  next  year  there  were  launched  12 
steam  vessels  and  43  sailing  vessels,  the  builders  of  the 
largest  number  being  William  H.  Webb,  George  Steers  & 
Co.,  Webb  &  Bell,  and  William  Collyer. 

*  In  1847  there  were  about  2400  ship  carpenters,  ship- 
joiners,  caulkers  and  sawyers  employed  in  the  shipyards 
of  the  city  and  vicinity,  and  by  1850  this  number  of  em- 
ployees had  been  increased  about  10  per  cent. «  The  pre- 
vailing rate  of  wages  had  been  very  steadily  maintained 
at  $2.00  for  10  hours  a  day.  I  About  1853  began  the  build- 
ing of  steamers  for  China  waters  that  assumed  such  large 
proportions  in  a  few  years.  The  marine  railway  that  was 
located  at  the  foot  of  East  10th  street  since  1826  was  re- 
moved in  1855  to  Hunters  Point,  now  known  as  Long 
Island  City. 

The  machine  bending  of  ship  timber  was  brought 


HIGH  WATER  IN  WOODEN  SHIPBUILDING.  151 

into  use  from  experiments  made  in  bending  timber  of  the 
sizes  adopted  for  furniture,  and  the  principle  was  applied 
to  timber  of  larger  size,  until  at  length  live  oak  H"xl3" 
by  10  feet  long,  sawed,  squared  and  straight,  had  been 
bent  to  the  required  crook  of  a  second  futtock,  by  the 
principle  of  end  pressure.  It  was  not  thought  possible 
when  the  American  Bending  Company  was  formed  in 
1853  to  do  more  than  bend  futtocks  of  a  very  moderate 
size.  In  the  same  year  a  pair  of  bent  futtocks  was  put 
in  the  steamer  "Ocean  Bird":  this  was  the  proposed  "6 
day  steamer"  built  by  J.  W.  Griffith.  In  1856  a  full  set 
of  bent  hanging  knees  was  put  into  the  bark  "Lexington" 
of  412  tons,  built  by  Edward  F.  Williams  at  Greenpoint, 
L.  L,  and  in  the  same  year  a  set  of  bent  knees  for  both 
decks  of  the  bark,  "Jane  Daggett"  of  840  tons  built  by 
Webb  &  Bell.  In  1858  the  steam  sloop  of  war  "Pawnee" 
was  fitted  with  sixty  machine  bent  timbers  from  twenty 
to  twenty-four  feet  in  length,  that  were  the  largest  that 
had  been  used  to  that  time,  and  in  the  same  year  the  ship 
"Richard  S.  Ely"  of  1200  tons,  built  at  Boston,  Mass.,  was 
fitted  with  bent  hanging  knees.  Machine  bent  knees  con- 
tinued to  be  occasionally  used,  but  it  was  not  until 
1869-70  that  a  ship  with  bent  frames  and  knees  was  built 
by  John  W.  Griffiths,  one  of  the  original  promoters  at 
East  Boston,  Mass.  This  vessel  was  named  "New  Era," 
was  of  1146  tons  and  proved  to  be  in  service  a  very  strong 
built  vessel,  dry,  and  a  good  carrier  and  obtained  high 
rates  for  freight,  with  low  rates  of  insurance.  This  was 
about  the  last  of  the  machine  bent  knees  to  any  extent. 
Wooden  shipbuilding  now  fell  off,  and  there  being  no  in- 
crease of  the  business,  it  gradually  fell  by  the  wayside. 

^The  "Dry  Dock"  section  of  the  city  was  the  locality 
between  Houston  and  12th  streets,  and  from  the  river  as 
far  inland  as  Avenue  C,  and  within  these  boundaries  were 
many  shops  and  factories  that  catered  more  or  less  to 
the  fitting  and  furnishing  of  vessels.  They  each  had  a 
greater  or  lesser  number  of  employees  who  knew  no  other 


152  HIGH  WATER   IN   WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING. 

time  monitor  than  the  mechanics'  bell,  and  during  the 
boom  period  it  was  a  sight  to  behold  the  hundreds  that 
came  in  haste — they  did  not  walk — from  the  yards  and 
shops  on  their  way  to  their  homes,  that  were  mainly  in 
the  vicinity,  at  the  evening  tap  of  the  bell.  A  stranger 
would  be  surprised  where  they  all  came  from  in  such  a 
short  time.  It  was  not  the  shipyards  alone  that  furnished 
this  vast  throng  of  mechanics,  but  the  four  or  more 
marine  engine  works,  and  the  smaller  factories  that 
added  their  quota  to  the  small  army. 

In  1855  some  of  the  works  of  the  allied  trades  to 
shipbuilding  in  the  locality  of  the  dry  dock  included  the 
Novelty  Iron  Works:  Secor  Iron  Works:  Dry  Dock  Iron 
WTorks,  J.  S.  Underbill:  John  Powers  &  Co.,  machinists: 
Youngs  &  Cutter,  ship  joiners:  Richard  Squires,  painter: 
Brooks  &  Cummings,  coppersmiths:  John  A.  Seamen, 
ship  chandler:  Morgan  Iron  Works:  Lewis  Raymond, 
boat  builder:  Neptune  Iron  Works;  Boardman,  Holbrook 
&  Epps:  John  E.  Hoffmire,  ship  joiner:  Andrew  Reed, 
and  Rodney  S.  Sugar,  shipwrights:  David  J.  Taff,  spars:* 
Horton  &  Arnold,  and  Watts  &  Sheffield,  edge  tools,  and 
John  Tiebout,  hardware:  Charles  Simonson,  ship  joiner: 
Cornelius  Winant,  spar  maker.* 

There  were  several  shipyards  at  this  time  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river  that  were  also  largely  engaged 
in  construction  of  vessels  and  employed  many  skilled 
mechanics,  and  others,  in  the  prosecution  of  their  work, 
and  who  knew  the  tone  of  the  old  mechanics  bell  from  all 
other  bells,  and  obeyed  its  call  to  duty,/ 

*There  were  two  other  spar  makers  at  the  time  located  at  Corleara 
Hook,  George  Thorburn  in  Cherry  street,  and  Abram  Denike  &  Co.,  in 
Water  street. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

DECLINE    OF    WOODEN    SHIPBUILDING. 

the  latter  part  of  1854  were  seen  the  first 
signs  of  the  effect  of  the  high  pressure  under 
which  the  business  of  wooden  shipbuilding 
had  been  operated  in  New  York  City  for  sev- 
eral years.  New  yards  had  been  opened, 
and  in  some  cases  these  builders  having  limited  capital 
to  carry  out  their  contracts,  that  they  had  taken  in  com- 
petition with  the  older  and  more  experienced  builders, 
two  or  three  of  them  were  forced  to  suspend  business, 
and  in  some  few  cases  their  effects  were  sold  by  the 
sheriff.  This  occasioned  a  season  of  depression  in  the 
local  business  that  had  not  been  felt  in  many  years.  The 
'prevailing  high  prices  of  material  and  rate  of  wages 
contributed  a  large  share  to  the  result,*  or  rather  the 
attempt  to  construct  a  vessel  for  less  than  its  cost,  has 
never  proved  a  profitable  adventure.  Timber  that 
formerly  cost  $28  M.  feet,  now  cost  $36  to  $40. 
Southern  pine  plank  $24  M.  feet,  Western  p.  plank  $32. 
Oak  ship  plank  $35  to  $40.  Hackmatack  knees  7 
inches,  40  cents  per  inch.  Refined  iron  advanced  from 
$40  to  $85  a  ton.  Copper  from  25  cents  to  30  cents  per 
pound;  and  labor  from  $2  and  $2.50  to  $3  per  day, 
and  even  at  the  latter  rate  of  wages  the  skilled  labor 
refused  to  be  steadily  employed.  With  these  conditions 
surrounding  the  builders,  and  the  fact  of  many  contracts 
being  taken  subject  to  a  time  penalty,  it  is  not  strange 
that  some  of  them  were  forced  to  suspend  business. 
These  same  conditions  continued  during  the  next  year 
and  the  want  of  a  more  agreeable  feeling  between  em- 
ployer and  employee  became  manifest,  and  the  exorbi- 
tant demand  of  the  skilled  labor,  as  it  then  appeared, 


154  DECLINE   OF  WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING. 

caused  a  want  of  harmony  that  lead  to  much  ill  feeling 
between  those  interested.  The  unfulfilled  contracts  had 
to  be  completed,  and  the  builders  were  at  the  mercy  of 
the  mechanics  for  the  time  being,  so  they  were  compelled 
to  submit  to  their  demands  for  an  increase  of  wages. 
This  state  of  things  enabled  the  skilled  labor  to  earn  in 
four  days  in  many  cases  as  much  as  was  deemed  by  him 
a  fair  week's  wages,  and  many  under  the  circumstances 
refused  to  remain  at  work  steadily  for  the  entire  week  of 
six  working  days.  One  of  the  ship  carpenters  who  was 
employed  at  this  period  told  the  writer  recently,  that  he 
was  making  so  much  money  at  that  time  from  the  high 
rate  of  wages  paid  to  ship  carpenters  that  he  was  com- 
pelled to  take  one  or  two  days  vacation  each  week  to  keep 
the  accumulated  capital  from  becoming  a  burden.  He 
says  he  sees  his  error  now.  It  was  early  in  1856  when 
several  of  the  contracts  had  been  completed,  and  new 
contracts  for  vessels  not  being  made,  that  the  effect  of 
this  agitation  began  to  be  seen  and  felt,  by  those  least 
able  to  bear  it.  'The  good  times  in  the  New  York  ship- 
yards of  1848  to  1854  never  returned,  except  for  periods 
during  the  Civil  war.  ' 

There  were  other  reasons  for  the  depression  and  de- 
cline of  shipbuilding  at  the  period  under  review.  'The 
steamboat  law  of  1852,  that  was  not  put  into  practical 
effect  until  late  in  1853,  had  the  effect  of  forcing  capital 
to  seek  other  investments  than  marine  property,«as  there 
was  not  that  freedom  of  individual  control  and  operation 
of  steam  vessels  that  had  existed  prior  to  the  enactment 
of  that  law:  this  affected  more  especially  our  river  and 
sound  lines  of  vessels.  Our  capitalists  were  now  engaged 
in  the  development  of  our/rsteam  railroads,/ 

By  1856  the  fever  of  the  California  gold  excitement 
had  passed  off,  and  all  the  vessels  that  were  required  in 
that  trade,  on  both  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  sides  of  the 
continent,  were  now  in  strong  hands  financially,  the  spec- 
ulating contractor  having  served  his  day  in  that  quarter. 


DECLINE   OF  WOODEN    SHIPBUILDING.  155 

What  added  a  further  depressing  influence  to  the  exten- 
sion of  our  merchant  marine  was  the  agitation  of  the 
withdrawal  of  the  mail  subsidy  from  the  Collin's  line  of 
steamers  by  Congress,  that  was  carried  into  effect  shortly 
after.  The  determined  and  patriotic  exertions  of  the 
British  shipping  interests  to  help  their  country's  cause  at 
this  time,  was  in  a  directly  opposite  course  to  that  of  our 
Congress,  which  was  accomplishing  everything  it  could 
through  legislative  action  to  hamper  and  annoy  our  ship- 
owners and  force  them  into  bankruptcy:  this  is  shown  by 
the  proceedings  of  Congress.  /But  what  had  a  most  last- 
ing effect  upon  our  shipbuilding  industry  was  the  failure 
of  our  shipowners  to  see  at  that  early  day  that  the  iron 
hull  vessel  was  to  replace  the  wooden  hull,  and  that  at 
once.  Great  Britain  had  been  for  several  years  building 
iron  hull  steam  vessels,  though  the  first  transatlantic 
iron  hull  steamship  of  a  permanent  line  had  not  been  put 
in  service  until  1850, 'when  the  propeller  "City  of  Glas- 
gow" was  operated  by  the  Inman  line,  and  a  few  years 
later  the  Cunard  line  had  for  a  time  two  iron  hull  screw 
steamers,  but  their  first  iron  hull  paddle  wheel  steamship 
"Persia"  was  not  built  until  1856.  The  Hamburg- 
American  Packet  Company  put  in  service  to  this  country 
iron  hull  steam  vessels  in  1855,  and  the  North  German 
Lloyds  Company  operated  their  first  iron  hull  steam 
vessel  to  this  country  in  1857.  The  Anchor  line  came  in  a 
little  later.  It  is  thus  seen  that  Great  Britain  had  very 
generally  laid  aside  the  wooden  hull  for  the  iron  hull 
steam  vessel,  at  the  time  we  were  building  such  fleets  of 
large  wooden  hull  steamships  and  even  large  sailing 
vessels,  and  even  later,  there  were  several  large  wooden 
hull  steamships  built  for  the  European  and  coastwise 
trade,  while  the  foreign  companies  were  adding  new 
vessels  built  of  iron.  So  wedded  to  the  wooden  hull  had 
become  our  shipbuilders  and  shipowners,  for  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  builder  was  in  some  instances  in- 
terested in  a  transportation  company  for  whom  he  built 


156  DECLINE   OF   WOODEN    SHIPBUILDING. 

vessels,  and  the  owners  in  such  cases  likely  to  be  influ- 
enced by  the  professional  opinion  of  the  builder  as  to  the 
design  and  construction  of  a  vessel,  that  the  latter  found 
it  hard  to  break  away  from  his  early  business  education 
that  wooden  hulls  would  rule  for  ages.  He  did  not  let  go 
until  forced  by  surrounding  conditions.  The  building  of 
iron  hull  vessels  in  this  country  up  to  1850,  outside  of 
those  built  for  experiments,  consisted  of  21  steam 
vessels  for  inland  waters  of  175  feet  in  length  and  less, 
two  naval  vessels,  eight  steam  revenue  cutters  of  an 
average  length  of  160  feet,  one  coastwise  propeller  120 
feet  long,  and  two  fine  river  passenger  steamboats  of 
about  240  feet  in  length.  There  were  at  this  period  but 
three  iron  shipbuilding  yards  in  this  country,  Harlan  & 
Hollingsworth  Company  at  Wilmington,  Del.;  Reanie 
Neafie  &  Co.,  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  and  Pusey  &  Jones 
Company,  Wilmington,  Del.,  besides  Robert  L.  Stevens' 
works  at  Hoboken,  N.  J.  This  shows  that  some  experi- 
ence had  been  acquired  by  our  constructors  in  the  build- 
ing of  iron  hull  vessels  up  to  1850,  and  with  an  increase 
of  facilities  for  production,  they  would  be  able  to  meet 
all  demands  for  domestic  vessels  of  larger  dimensions. 
Our  iron  rolling  mills  were  able  to  furnish  the  material 
for  construction,  and  our  tool  makers  the  necessary  tools 
for  working  the  heavier  material,  and  our  engineers, 
engines  of  greater  power,  as  the  first  year  of  the  Civil 
War  proved  in  the  refitting  of  several  plants  for  building 
iron  vessels.  In  proof  of  this  there  were  before  1860  five 
coastwise  iron  hull  steam  vessels,  all  constructed  on  the 
Atlantic  coast,  four  about  220  feet  long  and  one  142 
feet  in  length,  and  vessels  that  were  operated  for  many 
years.  It  is  true,  that  there  had  not  been  to  this  time  any 
effort  made  to  build  larger  vessels  of  iron  hull  for  the 
foreign  trade  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  treatment 
received  by  the  Collin's  line  company,  as  well  as  other 
American  steamship  companies  in  the  European  trade, 
by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  was  anything  but 


DECLINE   OF   WOODEN    SHIPBUILDING.  157 

encouraging  to  the  steamship  owners  at  the  time  to  in- 
vest their  capital  in  a  more  modern  type  of  vessel.  Cor- 
nelius Vanderbilt  had  built  the  first  and  largest  iron  hull 
steamship  prior  to  the  Civil  War  in  this  country,  after 
which  our  shipbuilders  were  engaged  in  doing  their  part 
for  the  nation's  preservation.  The  Civil  War  did  not 
cause  the  decline  of  our  merchant  marine:  it  had  started 
on  the  downward  course  toward  extinction  by  1861,  but 
the  Rebellion  was  only  a  cause  that  hastened  its  fall. 

During  the  Civil  War  there  was  an  abundance  of 
work  at  the  local  shipyards  in  the  alterations  made  on 
vessels  purchased  by  the  Navy  department  for  the 
blockading  fleet,  and  those  for  special  service  of  the  de- 
partment. Later  there  were  many  steam  vessels  built  for 
private  parties  that  were  purchased  by  the  government 


for  the  transport  service.  The  Navy  department  had  six 
screw  gunboats  of  507  tons  each  built  in  1861  by  Webb 
&  Bell,  John  English,  Thomas  Stack,  J.  A.  Westervelt  & 
Co.,  Jeremiah  Simonson  and  C.  &  R.  Poillon.  The  next 
year  there  were  five  wooden  hull  double  enders  built  of 
974  tons  each,  for  the  blockading  fleet  by  J.  A.  &  D. 
Westervelt,  Thomas  Stack,  Jeremiah  Simonson,  Edward 
Lupton  and  F.  Z.  Tucker  at  Devine  Burtis'  old  yard,  at 
the  local  shipyards.  The  government  work  and  that  for 
the  merchant  service  kept  the  yards  well  employed  dur- 
ing the  war  times,  though  there  were  not  so  many 
builders  as  a  decade  before. 

During  this  war  period  our  wooden  hull  shipbuilders 
had  not  yet  fully  learned  that  iron  hull  propellers  were 
the  coming  type  of  ocean  carriers,  for  there  were  built 
ten  of  those  large  beam  engine  side  wheel  steamships  for 


158  DECLINE    OF   WOODEN    SHIPBUILDING. 

the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company  over  300  feet  long 
each,  and  a  little  later  there  were  built  three  side 
wheelers  by  Henry  Steers  for  the  Nicaragua  Transit  Com- 
pany of  near  300  feet  in  length  each;  and  two  propellers 
were  built  by  Newburyport,  Mass.,  builders  for  a  Boston 
Company,  for  a  Boston  and  Liverpool  line,  of  about  the 
same  dimensions,  all  these  vessels  having  wooden  hulls. 
This  was  about  the  last  of  that  type  of  vessel. 

While  there  were  several  vessels  under  construction 
at  the  local  shipyards  during  1866,  in  the  spring  of  the 
next  year  there  was  but  one  vessel  under  construction  in 
the  shipyards  of  New  York  and  vicinity.  Take  this  as  a 
contrast  with  the  month  of  September,  1863,  when  there 
were  thirty-two  large  vessels,  each  of  a  thousand  tons  or 
over,  in  process  of  construction  in  the  shipyards  of  New 
York.  This  was  during  the  period  when  they  were  build- 
ing merchant  vessels  for  special  service,  and  the  govern- 
ment being  in  want  of  steam  vessels  for  transport  service 
principally,  made  contracts  to  purchase  the  vessels  on 
completion  long  before  they  were  finished.  There  is  no 
doubt  some  of  the  vessels  were  put  under  contract,  know- 
ing the  pressing  necessity  of  the  government  at  the  time. 
The  depression  in  the  industry  in  1866  was  mainly  caused 
by  the  government  throwing  on  the  market  by  public 
auction  a  large  number  of  vessels  they  had  no  further  use 
for  at  the  close  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  mainly  those 
that  had  been  in  the  blockading  fleet,  or  in  the  transport 
service,  and  were  adapted  for  the  coastwise  merchant 
service  or  the  river  passenger  trade. 

There  were  sold  by  the  Navy  department  at  Boston, 
Mass.,  New  York  City,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  and  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.,  just  after  the  close  of  the  Rebellion  219  steam 
vessels  that  had  been  in  the  blockade  squadron,  and  same 
as  transports  of  supplies  to  the  naval  vessels  and  stations 
on  the  Atlantic  coast.  About  the  same  time  there  were 
sold  at  public  sale  also,  by  the  quartermaster's  bureau  of 
the  War  department,  140  steam  vessels  that  had  been 


DECLINE  OF  WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING.  159 

used  during  the  military  operations,  for  the  transporta- 
tion of  troops  and  supplies  on  the  Atlantic  coast  and  in 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  larger  number  of  the  vessels  in 
the  service  of  the  War  department  were  of  the  better 
class  of  our  sound  and  river  passenger  steamboats, 
though  there  were  some  pretty  ancient  vessels  purchased, 
or  taken  under  contract.  There  were  comparatively  few 
vessels  fitted  for  the  coastwise  trade  as  the  Navy  depart- 
ment had  most  of  them. 

The  ship  carpenters,  ship  joiners  and  caulkers,  and 
other  employees  of  the  New  York  shipyards  can  lay  claim 
to  having  been  the  first  labor  organizations  to  throw 
down  the  gauntlet,  or  strike,  for  an  eight  hour  day  in  this 
country.  They  seem  to  have  been  the  advance  guard  in 
both  of  the  labor  movements  for  a  reduction  in  the  hours 
of  labor  in  this  country.  The  labor  agitators  had  been  for 
some  time  again  at  work  in  this  country  to  show  to  the 
skilled  mechanics  the  value  of  their  services  in  labor's 
interest.  They  had  been  agitating  and  looking  for 
trouble,  but  the  mechanic  had  been  too  busily  employed 
at  a  high  rate  of  wages  to  be  attracted  to  any  labor  reform 
movement.  After  being  worked  upon  for  some  time  by 
these  outside  interests,  that  were  using  the  shipyard  em- 
ployees for  their  own  selfish  purposes,  the  shipyard  em- 
ployees struck  for  an  eight-hour  day  on  April  2,  1866. 
No  complaint  was  made  of  the  rate  of  wages  paid  at  the 
time.  There  were  about  five  thousand  men  engaged  in 
the  strike,  that  had  extended  to  some  trades  allied  to 
shipbuilding.  The  strike  was  continued  for  ten  weeks, 
when  the  labor  organization  agreed  to  rescind  the  resolu- 
tion made  by  them,  calling  on  the  employers  to  reduce 
the  hours  of  labor  from  ten  to  eight  hours.  They  shortly 
after  went  back  to  work,  such  as  could  find  employment 
at  the  old  hours.  This  was  a  bitter  contest  while  it 
lasted,  and  was  at  times  accompanied  with  violence  on 
the  part  of  the  strikers  or  their  sympathizers.  The  loss 
of  this  strike  was  a  great  disappointment  to  the  local 


160  DEiCLINE   OF  WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING. 

labor  interests,  especially  as  great  hopes  for  a  general 
eight-hour  day  had  been  laid  on  the  success  of  this  strike. 
A  great  deal  of  repair  business  in  the  shipyards  that 
always  came  to  New  York  was  at  this  time  sent  to  other 
cities  to  be  done,  and  this  trade  never  returned.  The 
skilled  labor  at  the  shipyards  was  now  receiving  $4  to 
$4.50  per  day.  The  greater  number  of  the  better  class  of 
the  skilled  laborers  in  the  shipyards  were  opposed  to  this 
movement,  seeing  the  fine  work  under  the  surface,  and 
that  it  was  manipulated  to  other  interests  than  those  of 
the  laborers  in  the  shipyards.  This  was  an  ill-advised 
move  for  the  shipyard  employees,  that  most  of  them 
found  out  very  soon  to  their  great  disadvantage.  There 
were  many  worthy  men  taking  no  hand  in  the  strike,  that 
had  to  suffer  the  consequences  with  those  that  were 
active  in  the  movement,  and  of  less  ability  at  their  trade. 

The  shipbuilders  in  1866  in  New  York  City  and 
vicinity  were  Westervelt  &  Company,  William  H.  Webb, 
Jeremiah  Simonson,  John  English  &  Son,  Waterbury  & 
Joyce,  C.  &  K.  Poillon,  Webb  &  Bell,  Samuel  Sneeden, 
Lawrence  &  Foulks,  Thomas  Stack,  Edward  F.  Williams 
and  Henry  Steers.  Wages  fell  off  on  account  of  less  de- 
mand for  the  skilled  labor,  and  by  the  latter  part  of 
1869  had  fallen  to  $3.25  per  day.  Material  was  quoted 
at  this  time,  hemp  for  caulking  12  cents,  copper  34  cents 
per  pound,  hackmatack  knees  $2.75,  oak  timber  $60, 
white  pine  $45. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  all  the  wooden  hull 
shipbuilders  in  New  York  and  the  immediate  vicinity 
closed  up  business  about  1868.  It  appears  by  looking 
over  a  list  of  the  more  prominent  builders  of  this  period 
that  those  who  retired  at  about  the  former  date  were 
builders  who  constructed  steamships  and  the  larger  sail- 
ing vessels,  those  engaged  in  the  ocean  trade  to  foreign 
countries,  while  those  who  were  more  prominently  known 
as  constructors  of  steam  vessels  for  sound  service  and  the 
inland  waters  still  retained  their  shipyards,  and  had 


162  DECLINE   OF   WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING. 

more  or  less  new  vessels  to  construct  for  some  years,  with 
repair  work  for  their  old  patrons.  It  will  be  said  that 
some  builders  were  largely  interested  in  the  transporta- 
tion companies  that  gave  them  a  preference  in  much  new 
work,  as  well  as  the  repair  work  that  was  the  more  profit- 
able, whereby  they  continued  later  in  the  business.  That 
will  be  granted.  It  was  the  case  with  some  of  our  ship- 
builders during  the  boom  period;  they  became  financially 
interested  in  some  of  the  American  transportation  com- 
panies, controlled  all  the  new  work  and  repairs  of  the 
vessels  for  the  companies,  and  amassed  large  fortunes 
that  were  wisely  invested,  so  that  when  the  wooden  hull 
vessel  had  mainly  passed  by  they  were  in  a  position  to 
fall  back  on  their  savings,  and  some  became  actively  in- 
terested in  other  lines  of  business. 

The  only  builders  left  in  1870  in  New  York  City  and 
vicinity  were:  William  H.  Webb  in  the  city  proper,  and 
Lawrence  &  Foulks,  Thomas  Stack,  Webb  &  Bell,  and 
John  English  &  Son,  in  the  vicinity  having  any  vessels 
under  construction.  The  William  H.  Webb  yard  was 
idle.  In  the  last  two  years  Waterbury  &  Joyce,  Samuel 
Sneeden,  Jeremiah  Simonson,  Edward  F.  Williams  and 
Elisha  S.  Whitlock  had  gone  out  of  the  business  of 
shipbuilding.  Jacob  A.  Westervelt  was  dock  commis- 
sioner of  New  York  City  from  1870  to  the  time  of  his 
death  in  January,  1879.  Samuel  Sneeden  had  a  yard  on 
the  Hudson  river  opposite  upper  part  of  the  city,  where 
he  built  a  few  vessels.  Jeremiah  Simonson  was  a  U.  S. 
steamboat  inspector  for  a  few  years  from  1876.  George 
Bell  and  Eckford  Webb  became  interested  in  paint  manu- 
facturing in  Williamsburg.  Herbert  Lawrence  retained 
his  old  office  at  Greenpoint  to  the  time  of  his  death  about 
four  years  ago,  and  the  successors  of  John  English  &  Son 
retain  their  old  office,  and  construct  joiner  work  for 
vessels  in  which  they  are  interested. 

The  last  new  work  of  any  moment  completed  by 
some  of  the  wooden  hull  builders  in- New  York  would  in- 


DECLINE   OF   WOODEN    SHIPBUILDING.  163 

elude  William  H.  Webb  in  building  the  ship  "Charles  H. 
Marshall"  of  1600  tons  in  1869:  Jeremiah  Simonson  in 
1866  in  building  four  side  wheel  steamboats,  the  "Gram- 
pus," "Manatus,"  "Walrus"  and  "Nautilus";  the  two  first 
named  were  subsequently  the  "Stonington"  and  the 
"Narragansett"  of  the  New  York  and  Providence  Com- 
pany. Thomas  Stack  in  building  the  propeller  "Fern"  in 
1872  for  the  Light  House  Board.  Herbert  Lawrence, 
Lawrence  &  Foulks,  steamboat  "Albertina"  in  1882  for 
the  Red  Bank  line,  and  in  1892  the  steam  yacht,  side- 
wheel  "Clermont"  for  Com.  Alfred  Van  Santvoord  of  the 
New  York  and  Albany  day  line.  This  was  the  most 
skillful  designer  of  our  high-speed  river  steamboats  of 
the  period.  Webb  &  Bell,  of  the  ferryboat  "Winona"  in 
1869  for  the  Union  ferry  company,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  In 
1871  they  constructed  the  caissons  for  the  Brooklyn 
bridge.  C.  &  R.  Poillon  in  building  the  auxiliary  yacht 
«Oonas"  in  1901  for  W.  H.  Alley  of  Chicago,  111.  ^John 
English  &  Son  the  steamboat  "Adirondack"  in  1896  for 
the  People's  line  between  New  York  and  Albany.  Devine 
Burtis,  Jr.,  the  steamboat  "General  Slocum"  in  1891. 
Westervelt  &  Son  in  1865  building  the  steamships 
"Niagara"  and  the  "Saratoga"  for  the  New  York  and 
Richmond  line;  and  in  1866  the  "Foong  Shuey"  or  "Ply- 
mouth Rock"  for  China  waters.  Henry  Steers  at  Green- 
point  in  1877  the  "Massachusetts"  for  the  New  York  and 
Providence  line.  Thomas  Collyer  &  Co.  in  1863  the  steam- 
boat "Thomas  Collyer,"  now  known  as  "Sam  Sloan." 
Joseph  Van  Dusen,  foot  East  18th  street,  yacht  "Fleet- 
wing"  in  1866.  Samuel  H.  Pine  in  1893,  steamboat  "Mary 
Patten"  for  the  New  York  and  Shrewsbury  river  line. 

The  last  "square  riggers"  built  in  New  York  or  the 
immediate  vicinity  were  two  half-brigs  by  C.  &  R.  Poil- 
lon at  foot  Bridge  street,  Brooklyn.  The  first  was  the 
"Ruby"  of  233  tons  completed  in  December,  1873,  and  the 
"Garnet"  of  237  tons,  built  in  1877,  both  for  D.  Trow- 
bridge  &  Co.,  of  New  Haven,  Conn.  The  last  record  there 


164  DECLINE   OF  WOODEN   SHIPBUILDING. 

is  of  the  former  is  in  1892,  and  of  the  latter  in  1899.  The 
last  ship  built  at  New  York  was  by  William  H.  Webb  in 
1869,  the  "Charles  H.  Marshall'7  of  1600  tons.  The  last 
bark  was  the  "James  A.  Borland"  of  600  tons,  built  by 
William  H.  Webb  in  1868.  This  vessel  was  in  service  on 
the  Pacific  Coast  in  1897. 

Other  parties  now  came  forward  with  more  ad- 
vanced ideas  of  the  needs  of  the  marine  interests  of  the 
country,  and  with  propositions  to  put  it  on  a  more  stable 
footing,  but  it  was  not  carried  out  until  after  a  most 
determined  fight  against  strong  odds.  All  the  interests 
opposed  to  the  advancement  and  strengthening  of  the 
American  marine  were  arrayed  against  them.  Now  came 
the  real  opening  of  our  iron  shipbuilding.  Our  wooden 
hull  shipbuilders  and  shipowners  had  maintained  a  most 
determined  opposition  to  any  change  and  paid  a  high 
price  for  holding  fast  to  a  principle,  long  after  it  was  seen 
by  others  to  be  lost.  But  they  had  at  last  to  succumb  to 
the  inevitable.  As  iron  forced  out  the  wooden  hull 
vessel,  so  steel  has  replaced  the  iron  hull  vessel.  There 
were  many  of  the  wooden  hull  steam  vessels  that  were 
purchased  at  public  auction  from  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment at  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  and  placed  on 
coastwise  lines,  as  well  as  on  inland  waters  that  were  no 
longer  of  service  by  1873  on  account  of  their  being  con- 
structed in  many  instances  of  unseasoned  timber,  and  the 
want  of  proper  care  during  their  military  service.  The 
demand  for  new  vessels  to  take  the  places  of  these  unfit 
vessels,  gave  the  iron  shipbuilders  in  this  country  an 
opportunity  to  secure  orders  for  iron  hull  vessels,  though 
they  were  few  at  first,  as  the  country  was  then  suffering 
from  a  business  depression  that  lasted  nearly  five  years. 
/^$  ^  There  is  at  this  time  not  one  of  the  old  wooden  ship- 
builders or  their  successors  who  have  a  shipyard  at  New 
York  for  building  a  wooden  hull  vessel,  or  for  making  ex- 
tensive repairs  to  such  a  vessel.  There  are  a  few  small 
yards  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York  where  wooden  car 


DECLINE   OF   WOODEN    SHIPBUILDING.  165 

floats,  small  sail  vessels,  scows  and  barges  are  constructed 
and  repaired  for  local  service.  The  repair  work  on  the 
larger  vessels  is  now  carried  on  mainly  by  the  dry  dock 
companies  w^ho  have  every  facility  for  docking  a  vessel 
and  making  extensive  repairs  where  such  becomes  neces- 
sary. There  are  three  or  more  iron  shipbuilding  yards 
where  there  are  dry  docks  and  where  new  and  repair 
work  are  executed.  There  is  in  New  York  and  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  at  this  time  (1909)  5  marine  railways,  32 
floating  docks,  200  feet  long  and  under,  2  over  200  feet 
long,  4  sectional  over  200  feet  long,  8  sectional  over  300 
feet  long,  one  balance  dock  over  300  feet  long,  and  5 
balance  docks  under  300  feet  long  each. 

There  is  nothing  left  at  this  day  to  show  where  the 
shipyards  in  New  York  during  the  period  of  their  great- 
est prosperity  were  located.  Even  the  old  mechanics  bell 
has  been  removed  from  its  last  home  of  activity  to  a  place 
of  storage  at  Webb's  Academy  and  Home  for  Ship- 
builders. The  "Big"  balance  dock  is  about  the  only  ma- 
terial evidence  left  to  us  of  the  days  of  the  wooden  ship- 
builders' activity.  Last,  but  not  least,  are  the  very  few, 
not  more  than  forty  in  all,  and  this  number  decreasing 
very  rapidly,  of  the  old  employees  of  the  New  York  ship- 
yards, a  few  living  in  New  York  and  the  immediate 
vicinity,  and  the  remainder  at  the  Webb  Home  as  guests 
of  the  late  William  H.  Webb. 

Thus  has  passed  forever,  the  old  time  shipyards  of 
New  York,  that  kept  pace  with  the  industrial  progress  of 
the  United  States  for  more  than  fifty  years. 


>c 


Ackerly,    Samuel    21,     22 

Allaire  Works    3'8 

American  Frigates  18,     10 

"Adriatic,"    Steamship    105 

"America,"  Yacht    123  to  126 

American  Philosophical  Society.  .     33 

Anderson,   Alexander,    Dr 33,     34 

Apprentices    43,     94 


Bell,    Jacob    

Bell,  George  W 

Bergh,  Christian,  Jr -2-2 

Bishop  &  Simonson   

Black  Ball  Line   ." 

Block,  Adrian,  Capt 

Blossom,  Smith  &   Demon.  .  . 

Bolles,  Leonard    

Brown,  Adam  &  Xoah .  .  22,  39 
Brown,  William  H.  .  .59,  122, 

Brown  &  Bell    50, 

Brownne,    Charles, 

23,  24,  31,  38, 
Burtis,  Devine    95, 


102.  129 
...  95 
56 
59 

51 
6 
47 
1)5 
4!) 


.42, 


,  40, 
125, 

148,  149 
54,  127 

35),  49 

149,  157 


Capes    &    Allison    149 

"Car  of  Neptune" 28,  31 

Cheeseman,    Thomas    21 

Cheeseman,  Forman   21,  24,  38 

Cheeseman  &  Brownne 21,  22 

"Clermont,"  Steamboat,  23,  25,  34,  35 

Clipper    Ships,    Early    Tea 92,  93 

Clipper  Ships    126,  127 

Clipper  Ships,  Records  of.  .127  to  145 
Clipper  Ships,  Challenges  to  Race, 

145  to  148 

Collins  Line  of  Steamships 97 

Colden,  Cadwallader  D 23,  24 

Corlears    Hook    21,  50 

Copper   Sheathing    18,  19 

Collyer,  Thomas.  ..  .102,  148,  149,  163 

Collyer,    William     148 

Coxe,  Tench    42 

Currier  &  Townsend    126 

Decline  of  Wooden  Shipbuilding.  .   153 

Dock,    Hydraulic     60 

Dock,  Screw 60 

Dock,  Sectional 61 

Dock,   Floating    53,     61 

Dock,  The  Balance    105,  114 

"Dry  Dock,  The"    151 

Dry  Dock,  U.  S.  Navy     106 

Dry  Dock  Accidents   113  to  118 


Ec-kford,  Henry b6,  39,  40,  45,     49 

Eckford  &   Beebe    36 

"Empress  of  China,"  Ship 18 

"Empire  of  Troy,"  Steamboat. 98,  99 
English.  John,  &  Son, 

148,  157,  160,  162,  163 

Fickett   &   Crockett    47 

First  American  Frigates   18 

First    Steamships    Built    in    New 

York     97.  102 

Fire  Companies    55 

Floating  Dry  Docks 53,  61,  114 

Fulton,  Robert   23,  25.  31,  41,     51 

"Fulton    the    First,"    or    "Demo- 
logos"    39 

) 

'•Great  Republic."  Clipper  Ship..  139 
Griffiths,  John  W 26 

"Heaving  Down"  Process.. 50,  53',  106 

Horton,  William    63 

Hudson,   Henry    6 

Hunt,  Davis.  Capt 34 

Labor   Organizations    71 

Labor  in   1798    65 

Last  Wooden  Steamships  Built, 

157.  158 

Latham,    John     13,     21 

Launches,  Three  a  Day 121  to  123 

Launching  Disasters 107  to  118 

Lawrence   &    Sneeden 50,  149 

Lawrence  &  Foulks.149,  160,  162.  163 

Live  Oak  Timber   20,     21 

Livingston,  Robert  R 27,  33,     34 

Manhattan  Island 39,  40 

Manhattan    Market    86 

Marine   Railway    51,   52,  53 

Mechanics'  Bell   85  to  91 

Metzgar,  Christian   95 

McKay,  Donald    126 

Models,  Slip    56,  57 

Navy    Yard   at    New   York 19 

New  York  from  1776  to  1783.  ...  16 
New  York  Dry  Dock  Company.  .  51 
New  York  Historical  Society.  ...  27 

New  York   Herald    68 

New  York   Sun 69 

"New  World,"  Pacific  Coast.  .118,  122 
New  York  to  the  Pacific  Coast  in 

1850    .  ..118    to  121 


PAGE 

"Onrest,"  Yacht 7 

Ogden,    David    56 

"Paragon,"  Steamboat 29,  33,     34 

Perrine,  Patterson  &  Stack 102 

Poillon,  C.  &  R 157,  163 

"Powell,  Thomas,"  Steamboat, 

100  to  102 

"Raritan"     30 

Registered    Ships    Built    at    New 

York    45 

Renwick,  James,  Prof 29 

Revere,  Paul  &  Son 19 

''Rhode   Island,"   Steamboat    ....   120 

Roosevelt  &  Joyce   148 

Rutgers,  Henry   39 

'•Shipyards,"   1776  to   1783....  16,  17 

Ship  Carpenters  in  1805 23 

Ship  Yard  Fires  54,  102 

Ship  Carpenters  in  1847 150 

Ship  Builders,  1840  to  1845 95 

Ship  Builders,  1866 160 

Ship  Builders,   1870 162 

iShip  Builders,  Last   Construction 

of    163 

Shipbuilding    During    Civil    War  157 
Simonson,  Jeremiah, 

102,    150,    157,    160,  163 

Smith,    Isaac    &    Son    150 

Sneeden,  Samuel   149,  160,  162 

Smith  &  Demon  50,  56,  59,  102 

Stevens,  Robert  L 57,  104 

Steers,  George 125,  148,  150 

Stack,  Thomas    157,  160 


(Strikes    of    Shipyard    Employees 

64  to  71,     159 
Steamboats  Ramming  Docks, 

98  to  102 

Steam  Vessels  Sold  by  United 
(States  Navy  and  War  De- 
partments in  1866 158 

Steers,   Henry    158 

"Square  Riggers,"  Last  163 

Taft,  David  J 152 

Thome    &   Williams    48 

Timber     11,  20 

Timber,  Machine  Bent    150 

Tools,  Ship  Carpenters'   61,  62 

Trade  Unions  in  New  York  City 

71  to  84 

Webb,  William  H.,  44,  95,  97, 
102,  105,  111,  123,  127,  131, 

146,  149,  164 

Webb,  Isaac,  &  Co 44,  50,     57 

Webb  &  Bell   150,  151,  157,  163 

Webb,  Eckford 95 

Webb's   Academy   and  Home   for  iX 

Shipbuilders  56,  165 

Westervelt  &  Mackay, 

95,  102,  111,  126 

Westervelt,  Jacob  A 44,  157,  162 

Whitlock,  E.  S 95,  162 

Wilmurt,    George    95 

Wilcox,  T.  D.,  Capt 35 

Williams,  Jabez  108 

Williams,  E.  T 151,  160,  162 

Wright,  Sidney    47 

Wright,   Isaac   &    Co 42 


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